James Levine to hold a Press Lunch with the Boston Symphony Orchestra

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THURSDAY, February 19, AT 1:30 P.M., at Symphony Hall

Members of the press are also invited to attend Thursday morning’s BSO rehearsal,
10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., of Mozart Symphonies nos. 39, 40, and 41.

R.S.V.P., BSO PRESS OFFICE, by calling 617-638-9280

On Thursday, February 19, James Levine will present his first major recordings with the Boston Symphony Orchestra—four new releases, including Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé, at a press lunch, at 1:30 p.m., at Symphony Hall. The four new releases, under the auspices of BSO Classics, are drawn from recordings that took place during live performances by James Levine and the orchestra at Symphony Hall, part of an ongoing project to record all of Mr. Levine’s BSO concerts for both possible recording consideration and archival purposes. The recordings--two of which will be available on CD, all four of which will be available for download--will go on sale to the public at www.bso.org and other online outlets, as well as the Symphony Shop, as of February 19.

On December 1, in anticipation of the new releases, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, launched the first orchestral music download service with tracks available in both standard MP3 and HD Surround, an audio format that uses multi-channel sound to enrich the listener’s experience and reveal details lacking in traditional MP3 format downloads. The February 19 press conference will include a sound demonstration of this technology using the new BSO releases. Since its launch on December 1, the new bso.org download service has offered a selection of historic BSO, Pops, Chamber Players, and Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra recordings.

James Levine
An American orchestral conductor and pianist, is perhaps best known as the music director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He is also music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In October 2004, Levine was named music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), with an initial contract of 5 years[3], becoming the first American-born conductor to head the BSO. He now divides his time between New York and Boston. Thus, for the first time in recent US History, the same conductor was in charge of the country's leading opera house and a major orchestra.

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