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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Yannick Nézet-Séguin gets ready for his New Year’s Concert debut (NYT)
The Vienna Philharmonic New Year’s Concert has been one of the most important events on the classical calendar for over eight decades but this year’s edition is even more hotly anticipated than usual: star conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin will be conducting the iconic event for the first time! He sat down with the New York Times to chat about how he’s feeling a few days out…
We’re thrilled to be seeing a lot of Maestro Nézet-Séguin lately. Watch him live in the VPO New Year’s Concert later this week (please check availability in your region) or catch him at the helm of the Philadelphia Orchestra earlier this month performing the premiere of the newly-restored five-movement version of William Grant Still’s Wood Notes:
Canadian violinist breaks controversial NDA from Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (The Globe and Mail, Vancouver Sun)
Violinist Esther Hwang broke an NDA earlier this month detailing a sexual-assault complaint she raised in 2019 against a senior member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Hwang argues that she was then subject to retaliation from the ensemble, receiving fewer and less-prestigious assignments after reporting the incident. Her decision to break the confidentiality agreement this year came after rumours about her began circulating amongst orchestra members, and she has since received a cease-and-desist letter from the VSO. Hwang’s treatment and the controversial NDA have sparked considerable debate and backlash, both against the orchestra and the legality of workplace NDAs in Canada more broadly.
Jonas Kaufmann on the end of the Golden Age of opera (The Times)
In a revealing interview with the Times, superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann spoke from the heart about the challenges facing opera singers today—even ones as famous as he is. From the lack of creative spontaneity brought about by booking your schedule five years in advance to the pitiful fees offered by certain houses (including Covent Garden, where Kaufmann says it is just no longer financially viable for him to perform), he advises young singers steer clear of a career in opera, unless they are absolutely “burning for it.”
The Nutcrackers paying the bills (NPR)
If, like many classical music aficionados, you have been grumbling at all of the Nutcracker content lately—I personally can’t get enough of the festive cheer but to each their own!—it’s time to stop being a Grinch and take a moment to recognize the holiday staple’s essential role in the arts ecosystem. First, it creates a financial boom for many companies, which often allows them to bankroll the rest of the season: the New York City Ballet’s 50 Nutcracker performances represent almost half of ticket revenue for the entire year, for example. Second, for companies across the country, Nutcrackers are a kind of olive branch to new audience members—a way to get them in the door and maybe back again to see another production later in the season.
The Met Opera x Influencers (NYT)
As part of my job, I oversee medici.tv’s social media operations—which means I spend an awful lot of time thinking about how to marry the centuries-old tradition of classical music with the constantly-evolving landscape of digital content. I was delighted to read about the influencer outreach campaign underway at New York’s Metropolitan Opera: to promote the 25/26 season, the storied opera house is collaborating with 70 social media influencers, who have a combined reach of over 16 million followers—an attempt “to adapt to where audiences are.”
