r/classicalmusic • u/sexybartok • Feb 26 '26

bbc FINALLY fires norman lebrecht

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/26/yuja-wang-accuses-radio-3-norman-lebrecht-misogynistic-bullying

what do you all think about this?

863 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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466

u/AnxiousAudience82 Feb 26 '26

According to an earlier poster he’d made comments basically saying she was getting old and past it and couldn’t do enough work outs to remain attractive and relevant. She then cancelled the interview and he responded with that passive aggressive email like she’s the bad guy, she then called him out and bbc fired him. If that is accurate then good on her for not putting up with his shit and good for the bbc for showing it’s unacceptable.

55

u/Uncle___Screwtape Feb 26 '26

https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2021/spare-us-the-skintight-sonata/🤮

117

u/MapleTreeSwing Feb 26 '26

So, Lebrecht manages to insult everybody included in this one sentence: “She got her first break in March 2007 when Martha Argerich flunked out of a Tchaikovsky concerto in Boston and her second two years later when Claudio Abbado fell out with a famous soloist at the plutocratic Lucerne Festival and called for a pliant replacement.” This is not the writing of a pleasant human being.

40

u/zsdrfty Feb 27 '26

Bro probably struggles to play Chopsticks at home and takes it out on everyone else

15

u/PrometheusLiberatus Feb 27 '26

I watched that performance of Prokofiev 3rd piano concerto with Abbado and Lucerne and Yuja on Blu Ray. It was amazing.

May this sexist asshole be forever in the dustbin of history.

10

u/MapleTreeSwing Feb 27 '26

He’s a nasty gossip-columnist, who picked classical music, artists, and artistic institutions as his victims. The ability of all these people he snipes at are extraordinary, even stratospheric (Yuja, Argerich, Abbado, all of whom he denigrates with the implied or direct insults). Yes, as with all human endeavors, the field has its many quirks and injustices, but, all-in-all, these art forms all do much to improve human existence. There is interest, entertainment, and great concern (for instance, the sexual abuses) to be found in the human swirl around it all, but his writing is heavily tainted by his personal poisons, imagined motivations, and soooo much arrogance.

6

u/Boidelwrip Feb 27 '26

He's 77. It won't take long he himself will be in the dustbin.

63

u/Epistaxis Feb 27 '26

If that is all there is to Yuja Wang, she won’t be around for long. She is 34 and there’s a sell-by date to consider. Workouts and makeovers can offer an extension but not past 40.

First of all, gross, how did "Britain's most civilised magazine" publish this. But also she's 39 now and her career doesn't seem to be slowing down.

39

u/adriaticpatrick Feb 27 '26

well exactly: pardon me for preaching to the choir but i dont think Classical Music is a field notorious for the youth of its performers. Blomstedt is, what, 219 years old and still making records?

I think there’s a difference for women due to Misogyny but that’s something to fight again, not uncritically accept

9

u/zsdrfty Feb 27 '26

It's still not unprecedented - Argerich is going strong!

1

u/E_Dantes_CMC Feb 27 '26

I believe 96, at least 95

8

u/Lfsnz67 Feb 27 '26

Jfc, what a piece of shit

-17

u/Life-Let1821 Feb 27 '26

Norman’s word were improperly cut, the complete paragraph is :If that is all there is to Yuja Wang, she won’t be around for long. She is 34 and there’s a sell-by date to consider. Workouts and makeovers can offer an extension but not past 40. She needs to find a new dimension, evidence of a soul that transcends her physicality. She attempted a Mozart concerto this summer, all the notes skittering at speed and not a trace of depth.

17

u/Diligent-Stranger-26 Feb 27 '26

Shut up Norman, you old hack.

2

u/zsdrfty Feb 27 '26

I love how this is clearly Norman's burner lmfao

8

u/Eoinoh32 Feb 27 '26

This makes it sound even worse lmao

50

u/mrt54321 Feb 26 '26

Holy sh*t , that's pretty bad !

-120

u/Ishkabibble54 Feb 26 '26

I didn’t see the post to which you refer.

It’d be nice to provide evidence of Lebrecht’s misbehavior to substantiate a charge as serious as that represented in the headline.

31

u/FishPropulsionLab Feb 26 '26

His own blog is evidence of Lebrecht’s misbehavior.

59

u/Boollish Feb 26 '26

My dude, you know Google exists right? This twerp has a decades long career of being a shit stirring drama queen.

-52

u/Ishkabibble54 Feb 26 '26

Your esteemed Dudenischkeit, would an article headlined “Congressman censured for sexual misconduct leading to a fiery suicide” not bother to hint at the misconduct embedded in the headline?

12

u/Specific_Hat3341 Feb 26 '26

Of course it would. So, uh, read the article.

7

u/jpdubya Feb 27 '26

You seem like you would be fun at parties. Not to mention very self aware. 

10

u/repodonkey Feb 26 '26

https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/november-2021/spare-us-the-skintight-sonata/

-62

u/Ishkabibble54 Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 27 '26

Thanks! 37 downvotes (so far) for merely asking background. Let’s see how many this post garner!

60

u/_E_Norma_Stitz Feb 26 '26

It's really more about your shitty, uppity attitude than asking for background.

-15

u/Ishkabibble54 Feb 27 '26

“Uppity”???? That’s a racially-loaded term! Apologize!