Levine, Robert 1944–

(Bob Levine)

PERSONAL: Born July 19, 1944, in New York, NY; son of George I. (a government employee) and Frances (an office manager and homemaker; maiden name, Wilder) Levine. Education: State University of New York at Stony Brook, B.A., 1967, M.A., 1969.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Workman Publishing Co., 708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003-9555.

CAREER: Harper & Row, New York, NY, reader, 1969–71; World Publishing Co., New York, NY, editor, 1971–73; William Morrow and Co., New York, NY, senior editor, 1973–77; Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, NY, senior editor, 1977–79; Franklin Watts, Inc., New York, NY, editor in chief, 1979–81; full-time writer and freelance editor, 1981–. ClassicsToday.com (music Web site), worked as senior editor.

WRITINGS:

(Under name Bob Levine) Panache, and the Art of Faking It, Tribeca Communications (New York, NY), 1982.

(Under name Bob Levine) The Short Report: Good News for Guys 5′7″ and Under, Tribeca Communications (New York, NY), 1983.

Joan Collins: Superstar, Dell (New York, NY), 1985.

Divorce Court, Dell (New York, NY), 1986.

(Coauthor) Guide to Opera and Dance on Videocassette, Consumers Union (Mount Vernon, NY), 1989.

The Story of the Orchestra: Listen While You Learn about the Instruments, the Music, and the Composers Who Wrote the Music, illustrated by Meredith Hamilton, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (New York, NY), 2001.

(Author of text) Ludwig von Beethoven, Fidelio (opera libretto), Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (New York, NY), 2002.

Maria Callas: A Musical Biography, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor to Opera News, Ovation, High Fidelity, Video and Sound, American Record Guide, and San Francisco Chronicle.

SIDELIGHTS: Robert Levine once told CA: "There are two reasons to write: to entertain and to inform. Light books on serious subjects provide one way to do both, and you shed light as you go. Besides that, people who have regular jobs can't work in their pajamas. I particularly enjoy writing about opera because it has such a mysterious aura about it. The fact that I can describe in words what I have heard in musical terms gives me great satisfaction. I speak French and Italian, have traveled extensively throughout Europe, know everything there is to know about grand opera, and live in both country and city, finding that each looks better when you've been away. I love both concrete and glass and grass and trees; they complement each other."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Reference Books Annual, 1991, review of Guide to Opera and Dance on Videocassette, p. 543.

Booklist, December 15, 2001, review of The Story of the Orchestra: Listen While You Learn about the Instruments, the Music, and the Composers Who Wrote the Music, p. 726.

Opera News, March 17, 1990, review of Guide to Opera and Dance on Videocassette, p. 46.

Reference and Research Book News, August, 1990, review of Guide to Opera and Dance on Videocassette, p. 20.

School Library Journal, September, 2001, review of The Story of the Orchestra, p. 249.