Breaking: Yuja cancels Chicago with Klaus

Breaking: Yuja cancels Chicago with Klaus

Orchestras

norman lebrecht

March 28, 2024

We’re hearing that Yuja Wang has dropped out of next week’s Bartok concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and her former boyfriend Klaus Mäkelä.

Chicago still has her name up in lights on the website but they’ve been calling around agents for a replacement.

This may become a frequent occurrence. Yuja and Klaus booked three years’ worth of concerts together before the breakup, embarrasing agents on both sides.

Comments

  • GUEST says:

    When workplace romances go bad, this can happen. She should find a nice doctor or lawyer.

    • waw says:

      It was a mismatch from the get go.

      In age, in power dynamics …

      Did they breakup the moment Chicago made their offer to Klaus, and Yuja was like, honey, don’t take it, let’s just stay put in Paris, you and me forever, and he’s like, babe, you’re getting old and clingy, it’s not becoming of you…

    • Concertgebouw79 says:

      In cinema it happens very frequently that actors/directors have romance before or during a shooting but at the end they are almost everytime proffesional… When the film goes on the screens they do the promotion for it together in festival. In this case it’s not the case.

    • Zandonai says:

      why doctor or lawyer? those professions produce many narcissistic individuals that are hard to live with.
      Just find a regular guy with a regular job who loves her for her (preferably someone not in the music industry).
      …like Jay Leno and other Hollywood celebs who married normal people and are still happily married.
      Just make sure she gets a prenup it’s a smart thing to do.

    • Hal Sacks says:

      Dutoit and Argerich continued mutual engagements long after divorcing.

    • Ivann says:

      100 percent right . She needs A guy her age and better looking , she is just too pretty for ugly guys.

    • Siegfried says:

      I’m available….and willing!

    • frequent visitor says:

      Once I kindly suggested to consult preventively with lawyer regarding the unhuman divorce and taxation laws of the cold country already year ago, however, got a quick adverse reaction then…

  • Shirley Katz says:

    Frustrating for everyone involved, I guess, especially if CSO are planning to make their big MD announcement. I didn’t think they were together that long.

  • Maria says:

    Didn’t have enough clothes to wear in Chicago!

  • OSF says:

    Surely they’re not going to cancel every joint engagement? Did they not consider that maybe it won’t last and that they still need to be able to work together? Or, here’s a thought: Maybe there’s another reason she cancelled this Chicago gig?

  • Hm says:

    Surely no one thought Yuja was actually capable of sustaining a relationship! I mean, you’ve heard and seen her interviews, right? Right?

    • Sam's Hot Car Lot says:

      Any man in Yuja’s life is going to take a backseat to her prime love – Rachmaninoff.

      • Em says:

        well,other man are going to take a backseat to their partners prime love- fashion, money and so on.
        so, nothing unusual in this case

  • Michal says:

    The agents should have asked me before they booked concerts with this couple.I definitely saw this breaking up coming.

  • Chuck says:

    Dang. I have a ticket to one of next week’s open rehearsal sessions and was so looking forward to seeing what her rehearsal outfit would be.

  • waw says:

    It’s not so much that she’ll be *cancelling* 3 seasons of concerts with him, she’ll be *losing* 3 seasons of work and income (of concerts with Klaus)…

    I mean she better start rescheduling now. Her agent must also be pissed off for the lost revenue.

    La donna e mobile

    • Bob Brin says:

      Her new appointment with New York Phil – plus Dudamel going there soon – means she will be super-busy in NYC for the next few years – and her home is there also. Clever girl.

    • HSY says:

      That’s hilarious. Three seasons of Paris, Oslo, and Amsterdam? Who cares? She didn’t bother with any of them, or Chicago or Cleveland for that matter, before the relationship.

    • Peter San Diego says:

      L’uomo potrebbe anche essere mobile…

  • Save the MET says:

    She will end up canceling at least the first year. The rumor mill is rife with reports of his loose zipper. In order to be happy, she needs to find someone who will follow her around the world and hold her fur backstage.

  • Mock Mahler says:

    Klaus and Yuja should take a look at the video of Martha Argerich and Charles Dutoit rehearsing Ravel in 2009 and (somewhat) reminiscing.

  • Carl says:

    It sounds like things are still raw there. Maybe someday they’ll reconcile and it will be like Argerich and and ex, Dutoit (who even came to his defense after Dutoit had been accused of being abusive to musicians).

  • Tim says:

    I assume they were the classical music equivalent of Bennifer or Brangelina? Klauja, perhaps? Better for everyone this way.

  • Zandonai says:

    I’m looking forward to her Sunday May 12 7:30pm recital in L.A. Horowitz always played on Sunday afternoon 4pm in consideration for his fans who had to work the next day so they (and he) could feel relaxed before and after the concert.
    One of Yuja’s memorable encores was the Bizet-Horowitz Carmen variations, absolutely stunning.

    • BenHarmonics says:

      Why does this comment have more dislikes than likes? It’s nothing but positivity.

    • Matthew Coldicutt says:

      I agree. Having just recently heard Yuja’s recording of this piece, ìt sounds ( to my amateur ear) wonderful and lacks nothing. Must say, it is sad to hear some of the comments here. This performer is a force of nature and intellect, giving such pleasure to music lovers around the world. None of us know what is going on in her life beyond the concert hall, so why speculate.

  • Zandonai says:

    Happy World Piano Day 2024
    name your favorite pianist of all time.
    mine = Richter

  • Bigfoot says:

    They are scheduled to appear together in Cleveland next month. Stay tuned.

  • JBB says:

    Splitting up the vastly overrated couple should at least reduce the disappointment at the concerts they planned together.

  • John Kelly says:

    No more encores by Sibelius from Ms Wang then……

  • Alan Goldberg says:

    Strange. At the moment (2:20 PM on March 28), not only is Yuja Wang’s appearance still listed on the CSO website, it is still on her own website, as are subsequent appearances with Klaus Mäkelä, and at 10:30 am this morning I got an email from the CSO announcing the availability of additional tickets for an open rehearsal featuring both of them.

    • waw says:

      That’s because they are waiting until the last moment, when the president of the orchestra steps out on stage and makes that dreaded traditional announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to inform you that for tonight’s performance…”

      Everyone will groan, except the slippedisc readers in the audience who won’t be surprised at all.

  • Pete says:

    …to work with your significant other in music: so great when it’s good, so lousy when it’s not. buy hey, kids, let’s not be too hasty here…

  • Felix says:

    Is that personal matter? Or between the two

  • Research Council says:

    Dating coworkers can lead to walking a land mine.

  • Steve says:

    With regards to romances with people you work with, a former boss of mine had a quote that I have found very useful over the years – don’t sh-t where you eat

    • Midwestern Violin says:

      Isn’t that exactly what the last one did? At least Makela is not married, and this woman is not married and does not work for the CSO.

  • JoeC says:

    I heard Makela in a concert. He has the technique. But musically, he’s decades behind real maestros like Mehta, Ozawa, Abbado, Muti, Chailly, Dutoit.
    Charisma and charm sell tickets. That’s all it is nowadays.

    • GuestX says:

      Perhaps because he’s decades younger? he young
      It would be interesting to see how Mehta, Ozawa, et al, were reviewed in their twenties. Does anybody remember that far back?

    • Martin says:

      As a musician I once worked with said “it’s all a fake”.

    • PL says:

      He literally and figuratively is! He’s only 28! What could he possibly have to say yet?

  • Gerald says:

    I guess booking three years of joint concerts is the classical world’s equivalent of getting tattoos together in the first flush of love.

  • QB says:

    Dog whistle to bring out all the cave dwellers.

  • OSF says:

    Why burn up agent phone lines? Jorge Federico Osorio is alive and well and living in Chicago. Ian Hobson is down the road in Champagne-Urbana. Or maybe a CSO principal would be up for a concerto on short notice?

  • DB says:

    Why the judgements and itoldyousos? Was looking forward to seeing/hearing them at Verbier. My wife asked me to wait until next year and I said I’ll be 75 and a lot can happen in a year. Turns out I shoulda gone last year!

  • WL Weller says:

    This is why I always wait until the last minute to buy tickets at the CSO.

  • Anneke says:

    Overview

    Sol Gabetta, whose “enthusiastic music-making and animated style are completely infectious” (Classical Voice), makes her CSO debut in Shostakovich’s captivating Cello Concerto No. 1 — a riveting journey through themes of defiance, sorrow and triumph. Electrifying conductor Klaus Mäkelä frames the program with Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony, a searing portrait of the composer’s tormented life in Stalinist Russia, and the U.S. premiere of Sauli Zinovjev’s vibrant Batteria.

    Please note: Pianist Yuja Wang, who was scheduled to perform Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on this program, has withdrawn from these concerts. Could be, she is just ill. Have you thought of that? She doesn’t seem like a person who would cancel a concert just like that.

  • Paul says:

    I am seeing her tonight in minnesota. She was supposed to play The Bartok 2 but changed it to Prokofief 1, Four reasons unknown. She’s coming all the way to Minnesota for a fifteen minute student work.

  • Shut that door! says:

    If his performance in the bedroom was as bad as his performance on the podium then perhaps that’s why the relationship cracked ?

    Yuja’s talent is in no doubt.

  • Rob says:

    I hope she finds a nice partner who loves her for herself!

  • A fan says:

    Ridiculous. Grow up.

  • Eda says:

    Maybe Rupert is still available? I believe ( from a newspaper. Not so-called social media) that he’s lonely & hunting.

  • Brian says:

    It’s really a tough life, being on the road

  • SueSonataForm says:

    Unprofessional narcissist.

  • Stephan K. says:

    As far as I am concerned, professional musicians must honour their concert dates, regardless of their relationship to the performers. Otherwise, they are classless idiots, who lose all credibility. Wang is the loser here. She needs a better artistic agent who knows what professional behaviour means.

    Cleveland orchestra still has Mäkelä and Wang on the same program in April. So, Wang just does not like Chicago?

    • Stephan K. says:

      The Cleveland Orchestra has also changed the program for Apr. 11-13 to Sol Gabetta and Mäkelä. So is this really just a pouting fit by a childish Wang?

      • Stephan K. says:

        Now it says TCO has Wang & Mäkelä playing together on April 18-20. Now that‘s better!

        • Stephan K. says:

          I take back my last remark. The other shoe has dropped. This according to Cleveland.com: “Virtuoso pianist Yuja Wang drops Cleveland Orchestra concerts from her tour schedule.” I don’t know if links are allowed in the comment section, so you will have to find this article yourself.

    • Paul says:

      Not anymore. She just cancelled Cleveland

  • guest says:

    The next couple of weeks are going to be very, very funny.

  • John Oshita, Cellist says:

    Please stop resetting the app while I am trying to compose my response. It’s really rude.

  • The Red Velvet Oreo says:

    The Rococo Variations by Ukrainian Russian composer P.I. Tchaikovsky and maybe Bruch’s Kol Nidrei as an encore would have been a more appropriate and provocative program. The War in Ukraine is not really about Stalin and the 20th Century. The war if i’m not mistaken is about honoring the principles of the Era of Enlightenment and the spoils of freedom according to Revolutionary Americana and the Marquis de Sade’s France !

    Correct? N’est-ce pas? Naja?

  • Woman conductor says:

    She may have a medical reason for pulling out. Overuse injuries are common, for one possible example. Yannick has taken mental health breaks…

  • Mari says:

    I am so upset. I bought these tickets as a present months ago, and THIS is how I figure out the cycle and guests changed!! CSO didn’t even bother to message about the significant change. I paid that money to see her, I want my money back.

    • Nickblitzn says:

      Mari, I bought 4 tickets the day they went on sale, 8 months ago.
      I immediatly sent a firm email to CSO and called them to demand a full refund. The moment they said no refund, I said okay you can take it up with my credit card company.
      I’m now getting a full refund.
      They cannot deny the refund tell them you want to speak to a supervisor.

  • Nickblitzn says:

    A classic Spinal Tap behavior.
    Even the Eagles showed up for their gigs when they hated each other.
    Hey Klaus, put your precious ego in check and remember that you’re a guy waving a little stick at (already) talented people and everyday when she wakes up, she’s still Yuja Wang, the greatest pianist in over 100 years.
    However, Yuja you gave your adoring Chicago followers the middle finger for 3 nights, and we won’t forget.
    You’re both petulant children, so bag your empty apologies.
    This is not rock n roll.

  • Lucy says:

    My friend and I bought tickets as soon as they went on sale . We flew to Chicago from Orlando , Fl only to find out the day before the concert that she canceled her appearance !!! Absolutely inconsiderate . If she books for an appearance in Orlando I will remember this in the reviews . Grow up !!

    • Jon Daba says:

      Two comments:

      Very simple: she realized she enjoyed banging the piano more than banging Klaus!

      Perhaps she is playing:

      “La donna e mobile”

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