James Levine’s Debilitating Condition

“Frankly, he had to medicate himself to get through the pain. It was clear he didn’t have control of some of his motor skills. But that’s how much he wanted to conduct; he was prepared to put himself in jeopardy. But we had to have an intervention of sorts, and I had to say to him: ‘Jim, it’s not right for you, it’s not right for the audience.’ Nobody wants to see somebody suffer, especially somebody you have a relationship with.”