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.
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A pair of forgotten Bach Chaconnes resurfaced after 300 years (The Guardian)
A forgotten manuscript and a rediscovered letter converged this week to unveil two youthful Bach Chaconnes, written over 300 years ago. Dating from around 1705, the two chaconnes were actually discovered about thirty years ago but experts were unable to fully confirm the identity of the copyist until a corroborating letter was unearthed earlier this year. Read more in our quick breaking news alert from earlier this week.
Investigating harassment at the Eastman School of Music (Van Magazine)
Van Magazine has published an investigation into reports of harassment at Rochester’s renowned Eastman School of Music. Conductor Rebecca Bryant Novak, who was expelled from Eastman’s doctoral program after raising complaints to the university, is at the center of the article, but reporting reveals documented issues dating back to the 1990s. It’s a tough topic that journalist Jeff Brown treats with nuance, painting a particularly heartbreaking picture of the hierarchical music school environment: a system “where teachers are often treated as near-infallible figures and judgements about musical ability get caught up with students’ capacity to conform socially.”
Anti-facism protesters criticize “hypocritical” Carmen production at The Met (NY Post)
Friday night’s performance of Carmen at New York’s Metropolitan Opera came to a standstill for twenty minutes while security dealt with a trio of “anti-facism” protesters criticizing late Met donor, billionaire David H. Koch, who is strongly linked to right-wing movements like Project 2025. The protestors dubbed the production, set on the US-Mexico border with “ICE agents ripping families apart,” “deeply disingenuous and hypocritical.”
The cellist harnessing neuroscience to help elite musicians (Society for Neuroscience)
I enjoyed this interview with cellist-turned-neuroscientist Julia Tom, who is pioneering new research on the tactile-motor relationship in elite musicians. Before beginning her PhD in neuroscience, Tom was a member of Amsterdam’s famed Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Chronic pain caused by a diving accident as a child made her performance career frustrating and Tom strives to harness scientific research to better understand the link between tactile sensations and motor skills.
Classical music mashups with a 2003 pop song take over TikTok
A delightful new trend has taken over my social media feeds: musicians around the globe have been layering classical melodies on top of the 2003 pop song “Milkshake” and it is absolutely incredible. Please enjoy a few examples: Shostakovich 15, Saint-Saens Danse Bacchanale, Bach Badinerie.
