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 five news items you need to see this week if you want to stay in the know.
Michael Tilson Thomas to “wind down” public appearances (Instagram)
Star American maestro Michael Tilson Thomas announced this week his plans to scale back concerts after the return of the brain cancer he has been battling since 2021. In a heartfelt Instagram post, Tilson Thomas wrote about coming “full circle” with beloved ensembles like the London Symphony Orchestra and the L.A. Philharmonic over the past year, and of planned final engagements this spring with the New World Symphony—a leading orchestral training program he founded in the 1980s—and the San Francisco Symphony.
Max Richter among over 1,000 musicians behind silent AI protest album (The Guardian)
Over 1,000 high-profile British musicians have come together to release a “silent album” protesting a new copyright exemption proposal from the UK government that would allow artificial intelligence companies to use otherwise copyrighted music to train their technology. The co-writers credited on “Is This What We Want?” include celebrated musicians from across genres, including leading classical figures such as Hans Zimmer, Max Richter, and the Kanneh-Mason family. Richter wrote on his social media, “The album, featuring recordings of empty studios, highlights the potential damage to artists’ livelihoods. The government’s proposals would impoverish creators, favouring those automating creativity over the people who compose our music, write our literature, and paint our art.”
Lang Lang makes a surprise appearance on pop star Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour (Classic FM)
Superstar pianist Lang Lang joined pop mega star Ed Sheeran—a duo absolutely no one had on their 2025 bingo card!—for a surprise performance of the latter’s triple platinum, Grammy nominated 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud.” Sheeran is kicking off the Asian leg of his current stadium tour in Hangzhou, China and invited Lang, arguably the country’s most famous pianist, to join him to mark the occasion. This is Sheeran’s at least second crossover collaboration with the classical world, following a duet with tenor Andrea Boccelli.
Antonio Pappano talks learning on the job, “playing catch up” and his new role at the LSO (New York Times)
The New York Times published a fascinating profile of Sir Antonio Pappano this week, as the renowned conductor and the London Symphony Orchestra set off on a thirteen-date US tour. Pappano describes his somewhat atypical classical education—which focused on on-the-job training, for example as a répétiteur (opera rehearsal pianist), rather than a structured conservatory program—and his new role as the Chief Conductor of the prestigious London Symphony Orchestra.
Learn more about Pappano in this episode of medici.tv’s musicmakers podcast, hosted by James Jolly:
The Only Girl in the Orchestra takes home Oscar (The Strad)
Last week I shared an interview with Orin O’Brien, the trailblazing double bassist who became the first woman to hold a full-time position with the New York Philharmonic in 1966, and who is the subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Only Girl in the Orchestra. I’m happy to report that O’Brien’s inspiring story won big last night: the 35-minute film took home the award for Best Documentary Short, beating out a tough slate of nominees that coincidentally enough included another heartwarming classical music feature, Instruments of a Beating Heart, which follows students at a Tokyo elementary school preparing for a performance of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. Both docs are worth a watch—The Only Girl is available to stream on Netflix and Instruments is on The New York Times’ YouTube channel.
