People in the News
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People in the News
Yuja Wang Takes on Norman Lebrecht
February 26, 2026 | By Susan Elliott, Musical America
Yuja Wang, superwoman of the keyboard, has accused Norman Lebrecht, classical music commentator known for breaking news, much of it editorialized, of “derogatory misogynistic bullying.”Lebrecht had been trying for over a year to schedule an interview with Wang for Radio 3, with which he has had a journalistic relationship for 25 years. When she cancelled the most recent one, he responded via email: “I hear from Phillipa Cole that you have withdrawn from any possible opportunity for a BBC Lebrecht interview between March and June this year.
“I am surprised and disappointed. I thought you were a serious person who stood by her commitments. I may have to revise that opinion.”
Wang posted his email on Instagram, along with her reply to it: “@normanlebrecht this derogatory misogynistic bullying need [sic] to stop. We are human beings who grow with nourishing energy, not characters for you to abuse.”
Lebrecht no longer works for Radio 3.
“When we saw the social media post we took action,” Controller Sam Jackson tells The Guardian. “We have spoken to Norman Lebrecht and we will no longer be working with him at BBC Radio 3.”
Yuja Wang was Musical America's 2017 Artist of the Year.
