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.
Daniel Barenboim discloses Parkinson’s diagnosis (AP News)
Titan of classical music Daniel Barenboim revealed this week that he has Parkinson’s disease. The celebrated conductor and pianist had already disclosed in 2022 that he was suffering from a then-unspecificed neurological condition and in the three years since, has significantly reduced his schedule. In a statement on Instagram, Barenboim wrote that he is “planning to maintain as many professional commitments as (his) health permits” and that his top priority was ensuring the ongoing stability of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, an ensemble that brings together musicians from across the Middle East, which he founded in 1999 with academic Edward Saïd.
Revisit one of the ensemble’s numerous historic performances, here at Geneva’s Palace of Nations in celebration of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The first-ever K-Pop orchestra concert to take place in Seoul (Korea Herald)
Audiences in Seoul are gearing up for a special concert next week that will mark the first crossover between the classical world and K-Pop. In a press release this week, Korean recording powerhouse SM Entertainment confirmed a new partnership with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, who will co-present a two-day concert extravaganza featuring three decades of K-Pop hits alongside a slate of star singers—an event the SPO hopes will harness the staggering international popularity of K-Pop to drive new interest in classical music.
Anna Netrebko makes her US comeback in Florida (New York Times)
Superstar Russian soprano Anna Netrebko performed on American soil for the first time since 2019 on Monday. While her performance at a gala for the Palm Beach Opera was a long-awaited thrill for many opera fans inside the hall, throngs of protestors outside criticized her previous support of President Putin—a link that has cost her numerous engagements over the past five years and even led to a legal dispute with The Met, who very publicly cut ties with the prima donna in 2022.
Strad sold for $11.25 million—all proceeds will go to student scholarships (The Strad)
On Friday, the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius violin, an instrument created during the luthier’s “Golden Era” in the early eighteenth century, sold at auction for $11.25 million. Despite being a truly eye-watering sum, the final sale price clocked in well under the potentially record-breaking and much-discussed $12-18 million valuation Sotheby’s auction house had listed earlier. The 300 year old violin takes its name from two of its previous performers: nineteenth-century star (and close collaborator of Brahms) Joseph Joachim, and its most recent owner, Si-Hon Ma, who donated the instrument to his alma mater the New England Conservatory in 2015. The NEC will reportedly use all proceeds from the sale to fund student scholarships.
Trump upends an American cultural institution (NPR)
Trump outlined his intention to revamp Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center this week, declaring his plans to appoint himself chairman of the iconic institution’s board and dismiss numerous board members. Home to the National Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center is a national monument, and has long aimed to provide a diverse array of programming from classical to bluegrass to jazz. Historically, its board has been bipartisan, with equal members of Democratic and Republican members.
