Stage mishap sidelines Boston symphony conductor

James Levine, music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has been forced to withdraw from the orchestra’s five-city 2006 American tour because he’s still recovering from an onstage fall.

“It is very disappointing for me because the orchestra and I were going in the right direction with these [new programs], and I could feel the momentum,” Levine told the Boston Globe.

Levine fell and injured his shoulder during ovations Wednesday after a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Boston’s Symphony Hall. Levine missed out on subsequent performances.  Doctors said he did not break any bones but have ordered him to rest to relieve the pain in his shoulder. 

“It is neither in his personal interest nor in our institutional interest for him to run the risk of aggravating an injury, if that is what he has,’’ BSO managing director Mark Volpe said Saturday.

Marek Janowski will lead the symphony Monday at Carnegie Hall in New York. Conductor David Robertson will take over the baton on the rest of the tour, which includes Chicago, Newark, N.J, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

Levine is scheduled to have an MRI in a few days so doctors can determine the extent of his injuries.  The musical director says he’s an “eternal optimist” and hopes he can return to his duties soon.

The 63-year-old pianist and conductor fell at the end of a prolonged standing ovation and said he still doesn’t know how he fell and thinks he may have caught his shoe on something.  Levine was facing the orchestra and chorus to congratulate them. He then turned and took a few steps to exit the stage, that’s when he tripped and fell to the floor.

Levine got up and did a little dance, leaving the stage and then returning for one last time to the relief of the audience.  Afterwards, he went directly to an emergency room. X-rays revealed no broken bones but doctors were unsure whether Levine sustained injuries to his tendons and muscles.

He has been applying both ice and heat to the area on the advice of doctors.

Levine was scheduled to begin rehearsals in a week for a new production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he is also under contract. He says he’s not sure at this time whether he will be able to fulfill those duties.

His next scheduled performance is March 20 with the Metropolitan Opera. He is not scheduled to appear with the Boston orchestra again until July 7.