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 news items you need to see this week if you want to stay in the know.
The elusive Martha Argerich talks to the New York Times (The New York Times)
Javier Hernandez at The New York Times offered us a rare glimpse into the fascinating world of Martha Argerich, an artist many consider to be the greatest pianist alive and one of the greatest of all time. In this fascinating profile, we join the eccentric Argerich on tour in Switzerland. In between mind-blowing acrobatic performances at the keyboard—“‘They look old now,’ she said of her hands, ‘but they still work.’”—she reflects on the “peculiar existence” of a world-renowned concert pianist in her 80s: “What are we pianists? Nothing. We think it is so extraordinary. But it is not….I don’t ask anymore,I just play.” A must-read!
We lent The Times a short clip of vintage Argerich footage for the article: Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 in 1977 with André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra. You can watch the full performance—one of the gems of our catalogue—here.
A pair of dance legends received royal honors this week (Instagram)
April 1st was a big day of celebration for the Royal Ballet as an investiture ceremony held at Windsor Palace honored a pair of British dance legends: principal dancer Marianela Núñez was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her outstanding service to the field of dance, and choreographer Sir Wayne McGregor was knighted by King Charles III in celebration of his transformative and pioneering impact on the cultural landscape.
Ralph Fiennes to make stage directing debut (Bachtrack)
The Paris Opera announced their 2025/2026 season programming this week and many were surprised to see a Hollywood heavyweight on the calendar. Academy Award-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes will make his debut as an operatic stage director with a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin in February 2026. Fiennes is apparently a Pushkin connaisseur and has previously starred as Onegin in a 1999 film version of the celebrated novel.
Acclaimed conductor and Berlioz-specialist John Nelson died (Gramophone)
American conductor John Nelson passed away on Monday at the age of 83. One of the world’s leading Berlioz scholars, Nelson was largely responsible for reviving interest in the composer’s repertoire and many of his numerous award-winning recordings will go down as definitive interpretations. At medici.tv, we’ve been honored to broadcast many of them, including this performance of Berlioz’s Grande Messe des morts in 2019, marking the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death.
