The B.S.O. has long been one of the most prestigious orchestras in America and the world,and like every other orchestra,it's had its ups and downs. over the years.
I haven't had much chance to hear the orchestra in recent years, but in general,reports of how the orchestra has been playing under Levine have been very positive from critics and others.
Many people thought the orchestra had declined during the later years of the very long tenure of former music director Seiji Ozawa, but they made many recordings over the years,and I always found them very well played. Unfortunately,like almost all other top US orchestras,the B.S.O. hasn't made any commercial studio recordngs for quite a while and has not had a contract with any of the major record labels. But under Ozawa,they recorded for D.G.,Philips, Sony,and a number of other labels,and had primarily recorded for R.C.A. for decades under Leinsdorf,Munch,Koussevitzky, and other eminent conductors.
Many of these recordings are still available, and . many of the recordings made by Koussevitzky and Munch are considered classics today.
Other leading conductors who have made recordings with the orchestra include,Rafael Kubelik,Claudio Abbado, Pierre Monteux, Lenard Bernstein, Sir Colin Davis , and Bernard Haitink.