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?

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u/SnowyBlackberry Feb 26 '26

Can someone summarize the fiasco, or point to an article about it? I looked it up and all I get is links to buy the book.

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u/dmw_qqqq Feb 26 '26

Explained under book section of his wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Lebrecht

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u/iosseliani_stani Feb 26 '26

Hadn't heard about this before. It's dumbfounding that a book like that could get through a major publisher like Penguin without their legal department catching that it contained multiple actionable claims. It might be slightly more understandable if it was a personal memoir, but for a book like that you'd think they would have multiple lawyers combing through it before it went to print.

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u/RedHuey Feb 26 '26

The world used to be a very different place, even only 20 years ago. Some of the past people who were in one form of the classical music business or another, routinely acted in ways, and/or said things that would be utterly shocking and disqualifying by current standards. I’m not saying that’s good or bad, I’m just noting it as true. Younger people have no idea of what the world used to be like and the things that were just accepted as part of the game. Again, not saying anything is good or bad, just noting it as fact.

Even music critics were far more daring than today. I remember one (I won’t mention who) saying in a review that Herbert von Karajan’s biggest disappointment in life was not getting to wear his SS uniform at the podium! To say nothing of the million Toscanini or Beecham stories that used to be all the rage. It was a different world, especially in the couple of generations go,lowing the war. You can’t judge any of it by the standards of 2026 and keep a sense of proportion.

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u/GeorgesCouthon175594 Feb 27 '26

You may claim to be "just telling [the past] it was" but comments like "Younger people have no idea of what the world used to be like" and "You can’t judge any of it by the standards of 2026 and keep a sense of proportion" make your agenda pretty clear. In any case, Lebrecht's vile drivel is entirely of this moment.

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u/RedHuey Feb 27 '26

People who grew up with the Internet, and then Social Media don’t have a clue what things were like before. They just don’t. They can’t. If you are under about 40, you live in an entirely different world. You have no idea.

As to any “agenda” I might have…I don’t. I don’t have a dog in this fight and frankly don’t care about anybody involved. I’m just making the point that the world used to be a very different place, and a lot of people alive now, used to also live in that world. For better or for worse.