As medici.tv’s Chief Content Officer I spend a lot of time thinking about classical music—and a lot of time on the internet. Here’s my selection of the top four news items you need to see this week if you want to stay in the know.
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Deciphering the autograph score to Mahler’s Second (NYT)
Get a fascinating glimpse at Mahler’s autograph score of his second symphony, the “Resurrection,” with Franz Welser-Möst as your guide! The precious document was recently donated to the Cleveland Orchestra and Welser-Möst had the honor of ferrying it across the Atlantic in his carry-on backpack. The celebrated conductor calls exploring the handwritten score “a sacred moment” and shared a few of, in his opinion, the most interesting annotations it contains—including a mysterious blue line.
After reading that, you will undoubtedly want to listen to the full symphony and here is a truly legendary performance from Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in 2003:
Fashion turns to ballet (Vogue Business)
Vogue Business explored the growing relationship between fashion and ballet, as luxury brands including Chanel, Burberry, and Issey Miyake increasingly partner with dancers, choreographers, and institutions to offer meaningful alternatives to conventional advertising in a sector with influential, affluent audiences. These partnerships can take the form of designing costumes for a ballet production (this, of course, has been going on for ages—Chanel herself collaborated with the Ballets russe in the early twentieth century), commissioning choreographers and dancers to work on runway shows or advertising assets, sponsorship models, and more.
Kennedy Center board pushes forward on renovation (Operawire)
The Kennedy Center rollercoaster continues as the board voted this week to proceed with Trump’s plan to close the venue for renovation through summer 2028, as well as adding an inscription on the building’s main signage to include the sitting president’s name—a workaround to an earlier ruling that rolled back a full-on name change for the institution. As these power plays continue to take place, the National Symphony Orchestra’s future remains unclear…
Renée Fleming sings bluegrass (NPR)
Celebrated soprano Renée Fleming popped up in an unexpected performance at the NPR Tiny Desk Concert series earlier this month, joining banjo master Béla Fleck and an all-star group of bluegrass musicians for a set of Appalachian folk songs, which she points out in the video, are just about as old as the repertoire we’re used to hearing her sing. Fleming is astonishingly at home with this music and it’s fascinating to see the mastery with which she adapts her voice to the style—what can’t she do?
