FEATURED H&HS ARTICLE

In this piece, Steve Vettese addresses a concerning behavior involving Alex Klein, former principal oboist of the Chicago Symphony and Calgary Philharmonic, who sought and announced an autism diagnosis only after being terminated from his Calgary post.

In his reply, oboist Alex Klein detailed accusations against two of his former students. He claimed that #1 had fabricated an affair and shared altered screenshots online to make it look legitimate, and that #2, his former student who he hired on as a teaching assistant, tried to report him on #1 student’s behalf. In the same email, Alex made several misogynistic and defamatory remarks about oboist Katherine Needleman. He made crude insinuations about how she was obtained her

Hazing in music schools is more than a rite. It is an emblem of a social pedagogy that trains silence, rewards submission, and cements closed networks that control opportunity. Those same networks can conceal sexual misconduct and exploitation and can punish anyone who tries to dismantle them.

It often begins with an email or phone call that never comes. A young musician, trained for years, waits to hear from the contractor who controls access to the pit, the recording studio, or the symphony hall. They may never hear back. Not because of their playing, but because of something else entirely: they are not on the right list, not in the right circle, or no longer in the right graces.

Gergiev and Netrebko are not being “canceled” for their Russian identity. They are being criticized for actively and repeatedly promoting an authoritarian state’s violence, lies, and territorial aggression. In the arts, platforming is power. A podium is not neutral ground—it is a place of influence, a place where narratives are validated, history is shaped, and moral legitimacy is either reinforced or revoked.