Pianist Yuja Wang has accused BBC Radio 3 presenter Norman Lebrecht of “derogatory misogynistic bullying” after making public an email he sent to her. The email questioned her decision to withdraw from an interview, prompting Wang to share it on Instagram with a response condemning his behaviour.
Lebrecht wrote to Wang: “I am surprised and disappointed. I thought you were a serious person who stood by her commitments. I may have to revise that opinion.” In response, Wang posted a screen grab of the email on her official Instagram account, writing: “@normanlebrecht this derogatory misogynistic bullying need to stop. We are human beings who grow with nourishing energy, not characters for you to abuse.”
Sam Jackson, controller of BBC Radio 3, confirmed that the station will no longer work with Lebrecht. “When we saw the social media post we took action – we have spoken to Norman Lebrecht and we will no longer be working with him at BBC Radio 3,” Jackson said. Lebrecht had presented The Lebrecht Interview and lebrecht.live for over 25 years.
Lebrecht defended his email, stating: “Yuja Wang had agreed with me a year ago to do a Lebrecht Interview for Radio 3. She kept putting it off until I lost patience and sent her an email that was perhaps a tad sharp. There was nothing bullying in telling her that I thought less of her than before, nor was it misogynistic: I would say the same to a male artist.” He added that he apologised to Jackson and the BBC for any unintended embarrassment.
A BBC spokesperson confirmed that Lebrecht was not currently contracted for any future shows, but discussions about future guests had been ongoing. Lebrecht also runs the classical music website Slipped Disc and has written for several publications. Wang is scheduled to perform with the London Symphony Orchestra on 1 March and has no further comment.
