April 8, 2024

According to one centenarian, the fountain of youth smells of vinegar and is wrapped in newspaper. The world's oldest man, 111, says weekly fish and chips are the key to his long life.

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In this week’s email:

The big idea: Chicago takes the leap with the youngest appointment in CSO history
Accolades: Lang Lang receives Hollywood Walk of Fame star
Piano Escapades: Yuja Wang monitors heart rate during Rachmaninoff marathon
Laugh of the week
Around the web: Scary airplane noises explained, guess the price of the house, a 25-year-old cat, plus more curious internet finds.

CLASSICAL CHARTZ

Weekly selections are based on sales numbers and albums we simply love and think you NEED to hear!

For the complete top 20, tune into Classical Chartz with the New Classical FM’s Mark Wigmore every Saturday from 3-5 pm EST!

THE BIG IDEA

Chicago Takes the Leap with Youngest Appointment in CSO History

Meet the fresh face wunderkind of classical music in Chicago: 28-year-old Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä.

Appointed as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's next music director, Mäkelä will not officially begin until the 2027-28 season. He's set to make his mark in Windy City and Amsterdam simultaneously as he takes on the chief conductor role for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

With a critic-friendly, vibrant fusion of "brilliance, power, and passion," Mäkelä is poised to weave his spell over Chicago's music scene.

His tenure agreement?

Five years, promising at least 14 weeks per season, including tours.

Love at first sight

Despite only two previous engagements with the CSO, Mäkelä made a big impression, dazzling musicians, management and critics with performances that resonated long after the concerts ended.

"Mäkelä has a graceful style of conducting with easy-to-follow stick technique, using abundant facial expressions and subtle movements like leaning in and out and crouching to convey a point. He is physical but does not overdo his physicality or let it become distracting," describes critic Kyle MacMillan.

As the youngest music director in the history of the CSO, Mäkelä's appointment is a seismic shift in Chicago's classical music landscape. His unique blend of contemporary charisma and classical tradition will likely result in a new, less traditional chapter for the orchestra that music lovers across the city are likely somewhat divided about.

Why it matters

Mäkelä replaces Riccardo Muti, who concluded his tenure as the music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2023 after a distinguished run that began in 2010. His leadership has been celebrated for his ability to draw partnerships with the orchestra, his commitment to education, and his dedication to community engagement. Over his 13 years with the CSO, Muti has left a lasting impact on Chicago's musical and cultural life.

Bravo, Maestro Mäkelä, on the appointment. This could be the beginning of a legend. — MV

TOUR DE HEADLINES

Klaus Mäkelä (Photo: Kaupo-Kikkas/Oslo-Philharmonic)

Conductors Had One Job. Now They Have Three or Four — Alex Ross explores the phenomenon of conductor Klaus Mäkelä's swift ascent in the classical music world and the broader trend of conductors juggling multiple high-profile roles.| The New Yorker

This Is What’s Wrong With Music in the UK — And Here’s How to Fix It — A discussion surrounding the crisis facing classical music in the UK, highlighting challenges such as funding cuts, the marginalization of music education, and the impact of Brexit. I The Times

Jonas Kaufmann Talks About Future Roles — Jonas Kaufmann shares his interest in future roles, including Enzo in "La Gioconda," roles in "Fedora," "Un ballo in maschera," Pelléas, Britten's works, and possibly Siegfried and Tristan again. | OperaWire

Paris Opera Takes $6 Million Budget Cut — The Opera de Paris faces a budget cut of 6 million euros, about three percent of its total spending, as part of a broader directive for the Ministry of Culture to find 204.3 million euros in savings before the summer Olympics. | Slippedisc

ACCOLADES

Lang Lang (Photo Handout: Hollywood Walk of Fame)

Lang Lang Receives Hollywood Walk of Fame Star

On April 10th, the superstar pianist Lang Lang will be the 2,778th person to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Lang Lang is the first Asian pianist to be honoured by the organization, and is being recognized for his “outstanding contributions to the world of classical music” as well as his “extraordinary talent."

Catch-up: This isn’t the first blockbuster award for the 41-year-old pianist. In 2009, Lang Lang was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People (check out his Time profile by jazz legend Herbie Hancock). Sports fans may also recognize the virtuoso from his performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics’ Opening Ceremony as well as the final of the 2014 Fifa World Cup. Lang Lang is also a philanthropist. His charity, the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and Keys of Inspiration, brings musical education to underserved British state schools. Lang Lang is also a UNICEF Ambassador and UN Messenger of Peace.

Digging deeper: And no worries, the classical phenom still spends some time at the keys. His most recent recordings include Lang Lang-Saint-Saëns (2024), which shares works suitable for young audiences including Carnival of the Animals, The Piano Book (2019), and his take on the infamously challenging Bach Goldberg Variations (2020). His tour schedule takes him to 16 cities in the next two months alone. Maybe you can catch this newly minted Hollywood starlet in your hometown. — SS

PIANO ESCAPADES

Maurizio Pollini (Photo: York Christoph Riccius / DG)

Yuja Wang Monitors Heart Rate During Rachmaninoff Marathon

During a Carnegie Hall concert in January 2023 dubbed a “Musical Everest'' by the New York Times, the pianist Yuja Wang and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin wore heart monitors while performing all four of Rachmaninoff’s piano concerti as well as Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini. Heart monitors were also donned by the accompanying Philadelphia Orchestra and select audience members for an experiment through Carnegie Hall.

The findings: The experiment’s results, which were released last week, revealed consistent heartbeat synchronization between Wang and conductor Nézet-Séguin. Another striking discovery was that the audience and orchestra’s heartbeats also synced with Wang’s and Nézet-Séguin’s during a particularly touching moment of the 3rd Piano Concerto. Wang herself could reportedly identify different musical landmarks in each piece just by looking at her heart rate patterns.

Context is everything: Last year, a professor at the University of Bern in Switzerland conducted another study monitoring audience members’ heart and breath rate responses to classical music. The study found that audiences breathe, sweat and move at similar rates while listening to the same music. In 2020, another study showed how attending classical concerts promotes social bonding. More cases for the connective powers of the arts, amirite? :) — SS

GAMES

Nothing says Monday like a mini-crossword .

AROUND THE WEB

📅 On this day: Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848) dies.

🏠 Game: With housing at an all-time high, you’d be amazed at what people pay for homes. This game tests your knowledge of the list prices of houses!

✈️ Helpful: All the scary airplane noises you hear on every flight, explained.

🐶 Awww: This cat turned 25 years old today.

LAUGH OF THE WEEK

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Today's email was brought to you by Sara "Context is everything" Schabas and Michael "Takes the leap" Vincent.

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