Levine back for BSO's new season

Conductor James Levine is expected to be back leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra when it launches its fall season next month.

Levine, who had back surgery in the spring, missed the BSO's summer series at Tanglewood in the Berkshires to recover. The BSO said in a statement Tuesday that Levine is scheduled to return for the season opening gala on Oct. 2, and for the first full week of the season starting Oct. 7 for performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 2.

The three performances of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 will feature soprano Layla Claire, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.  This will be Levine's seventh season as music director of the BSO. He is also music director of New York's Metropolitan Opera.