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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Eric Lu won the 19th Chopin Competition
The piano competition often billed as “the Olympics of classical music” came to a close late Monday evening and American pianist Eric Lu took home the top prize. We were thrilled to stream the competition finals live. Relive Lu’s winning concerto performance below or check out some of our Chopin coverage, including James Jolly’s interview with jury member John Rink, a look at the Chopin piece that started it all for some of the finalists, video guides to Chopin’s musical genres and his two concerti, plus a collection of performances from previous competition winners.
Star ballerina Misty Copeland officially retired (various)
A few weeks ago, I shared a first wave of press as Misty Copeland prepared to hang up her pointe shoes, and this week the pathbreaking dancer officially took her final bow. Copeland’s impressive legacy was celebrated with a star-studded gala on Wednesday. This article in CNN has a great recap of some of the highlights of her legendary performance career and decades of advocacy for more diversity and inclusion in dance, and is complemented beautifully by this photo gallery in the NYT. The AP has video highlights from the gala, and Vogue has a photo report of the event and the many stars who attended.
An interview with a 42-year-old retiree ballet dancer in Paris (Konbini – French with AI subtitles)
On the other side of the pond, dancer Aurélie Bellet spoke to Konbini about retiring at just 42 years old. 42 is the mandatory retirement age at the Paris Ballet and Bellet jokes that she must be the youngest retiree in the whole country before walking us through her three decades of experience working at the legendary Parisian institution. In the short interview, she takes us behind the curtain of a dazzling, “dream come true” career path that comes with its own set of costs, including a very strict training program, extreme wear and tear on the body, and the lack of a clear career path afterwards.
Lang Lang on overcoming early challenges, Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations, and more (CBC)
On CBC podcast Q with Tom Power, Lang Lang recounted his challenging journey to piano superstardom, which surprisingly included getting kicked out of school in Beijing as a young student. Playing excerpts on Glenn Gould’s piano, Lang also talked about the legacy of the Canadian pianist’s iconic Goldberg Variations recordings (coincidentally enough we just published a feature article by Charlotte Gardner on that very topic a few days ago!), and the importance of continuing to play classic repertoire—even “starter pieces” that are technically easy—well into your career.
Luciano Berio at 100 (NYT)
I enjoyed this NYT profile of experimental Italian composer Luciano Berio, who celebrates his centenary this year. The article includes a nice focus on his Sinfonia, a five-movement orchestral suite and “exploration of attention, distraction and informational overload” that remains one of his most popular pieces. If you’re not familiar with Berio’s music, Sinfonia is a great starting point. Listen to the radical and “presciently overstimulating” third movement:
Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia, “In ruhig fliessender Bewegung”.
