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.
View author's page
Reading time estimated : 4 min
Piano teacher Gary Graffman died (NYT)
American pianist Gary Graffman passed away this week. A child prodigy whose concert career was cut short by a neurological disorder, Graffman was best known as a pedagogue: at the Curtis Institute, he taught generations of students including some of today’s biggest superstars, Yuja Wang and Lang Lang, who both posted heartfelt tributes to him on social media. Graffman’s later years were marked by scandal: he was president of the prestigious institution when a student reported being sexually assaulted by a faculty member in 2019—an incident Graffman “failed to take appropriate action on” according to an external investigation.
Tugan Sokhiev to conduct the 2027 VPO New Year’s Concert
The Vienna Philharmonic announced this week that Tugan Sokhiev will conduct the 2027 edition of their iconic New Year’s Concert. Sokhiev first conducted the VPO in 2009 and has since become a regular artistic partner. This year, he led the orchestra’s Summer Night Concert at Schönbrunn Palace.
Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s joyous New Year’s Concert
Sokhiev will have big shoes to fill next year: Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin knocked it out of the park at this year’s edition of the VPO New Year’s Concert. From a slate of fantastic behind-the-scenes content on social media to his jubilant walk through the audience during the traditional Radetzky March encore, Nézet-Séguin’s turn at the podium leading what is undoubtedly classical music’s biggest annual event was full of joy and celebration. The orchestra even invited the Maestro’s husband—a skilled violist—to join them for a portion of the concert!
Photographing the British opera stage (The Guardian)
The Guardian published two gorgeous photo galleries as part of their year-end round-up. Guardian photographer Tristam Kenton’s selection of favorite opera photos of the year highlight many of the colorful, daring stagings British opera houses produced this year (my favorite image in the lot is Alice Coote as Semele), while David Levene’s work documenting the Royal Opera’s Turandot—still on stage at Covent Garden—gives us a rare glimpse into the wings and rehearsal rooms of one of the world’s leading opera houses.
Marina Viotti: “This is the crossover career and life I always wanted” (New York Times)
I enjoyed this profile of multi-hyphenate Marina Viotti in the New York Times. Viotti is best-known to classical fans as an internationally-renowned mezzo soprano, but she is also an acclaimed metal singer: she has won a Grammy award for her collaboration with French metal band Gojira and even performed with Black Sabbath. Viotti is carving a path as the ultimate crossover artist and after overcoming numerous obstacles during her studies and early career, the rest of the world is finally coming around: “Ten years ago, I was considered a bit weird… Now what I do is seen as cool. I can go back to metal from the front door now and build a bridge between my worlds.”
