Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Mahan Esfahani on Bach's Keyboard Concertos

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:43:16 +0000

In this week's edition of the Gramophone Podcast, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani talks about his new recording of Bach's Complete Keyboard Concertos, newly released on the Hyperion label. Why were these pivotal works in the instrument's development written, and how might they have been performed? Esfahani explores these questions, along with many other fascinating topics surrounding the instrument, its repertoire and his own career, in the company of Editor Martin Cullingford.

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Klaus Tennstedt at 100: Edward Seckerson recalls a great conductor

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 07:45:00 +0000

The conductor Klaus Tennstedt was born on June 6, 1926. After his arrival from East Germany to the West, he held chief conductor posts with the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg (1979-81), and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1983-87), with whom he recorded extensively, including a Mahler symphony cycle (of which No 8 won a Gramophone Award back in 1987).

To mark the anniversary Warner Classics has issued a 41-CD set of all of the conductor's EMI recordings. Additionally, there is a substantial Tennstedt catalogue on the LPO's own label as well as numerous off-air performances on YouTube and various other record labels.

A century on, we celebrate Tennstedt's artistry with a special Gramophone podcast in which the critic and broadcaster Edward Seckerson – who interviewed the conductor, attended recording sessions and heard him live many time – talks to James Jolly about what made him such an admired musician.

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Colin Matthews on his new album, 'Sea Scapes'

Fri, 29 May 2026 11:28:00 +0000

In this week's episode of the Gramophone podcast, the composer Colin Matthews joins Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about his new album of works for voice and ensemble, Sea Scapes, release on the Onyx label. They discuss the challenge of setting poetry, as well as the joy of working with such collaborators as soprano Claire Booth and conductor Jessica Cottis.

This podcast is in association with Wigmore Hall.

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Violinist Hugo Ticciati on O/Modernt's 'Milestones'

Fri, 22 May 2026 12:10:00 +0000

In this week's Gramophone Podcast, Hugo Ticciati talks to Editor Martin Cullingford about the fascinating new album from his ensemble O/Modernt, released on the Signum label. Called Milestones, it marks 500 years since the death of Josquin, 50 since the death of Stravinsky, and 30 since that of Miles Davis, by exploring music from all three towering musical figures. Hugo Ticciati talks about the project, and about the unique Gramophone Award-winning group that has recorded it.

This podcast is in association with Wigmore Hall.

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Celebrating Wigmore Hall at 125 with Director John Gilhooly and author Julia Boyd

Fri, 15 May 2026 08:18:00 +0000

On May 31, 1901 London's Wigmore Hall (originally Bechstein Hall) opened its doors, and hosted its first concert. Among the performers were the great Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe and the Italian pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni. Mrs Helen Trust, a much-admired English soprano, performed as did the baritone Raimund von Zur-Mühlen. Supporting the singers were Hamilton Harty and Victor Biegel.

To mark this auspicious anniversary, Wigmore Hall is holding a two-week festival from May 25 and, over 24 concerts, welcoming some of today's greatest musicians to perform, including Gramophone Award winners, singers Lise Davidsen, Asmik Grigorian, Carolyn Sampson, Ian Bostridge, Christian Gerhaher, pianists Thomas Adès, Yunchan Lim, Igor Levit, Alexandre Kantorow and Angela Hewitt, violinists Alina Ibragimova and Christian Tetzlaff, as well as numerous quartets and ensembles.

A new book also marks the anniversary, There is Sweet Music Here, The World of Wigmore Hall (Elliott & Thompson; £25) by Julia Boyd. James Jolly sat down with Wigmore Hall's Director John Gilhooly and Julia Boyd to reflect on the hall's 125 years but also to look to the future.

All the music in the podcast comes from the Wigmore Hall Live catalogue and includes performances by the Elias Quartet, Iestyn Davies with Richard Egarr and friends, Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson with Julius Drake, and Sir Thomas Allen with Malcolm Martineau.

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Helen Charlston on 'A Poet's Love'

Fri, 08 May 2026 13:15:00 +0000

In this episode of the Gramophone Podcast, mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston speaks to Hattie Butterworht in Amsterdam during the run of Michel van der Aa's new opera Theory of Flames to discuss her latest album, A Poet's Love. Centred on Schumann's Dichterliebe, the recording places the celebrated song cycle alongside other works. Charlston reflects on recording such an iconic work, the shifting nature of interpretation, and the powerful interplay between poetry and musical storytelling.

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The Gramophone Listening Room, with Plínio Fernandes and Anastasia Kobekina

Fri, 01 May 2026 11:27:00 +0000

Today we launch a new edition to the Gramophone Podcasts, The Gramophone Listening Room, in which Charlotte Gardner invites two of today's finest young artists into the studio to explore some of the treasures of the recording archive, both recent and historic. Each chooses two recordings to share and discuss, after which Charlotte suggests a choice of her own for them to discover. Her inaugural guests are guitarist Plínio Fernandes and cellist Anastasia Kobekina, and after listening you can visit Gramophone's website to hear all the featured recordings for yourself.

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Barnabás Kelemen on celebrating the legacy of the Hungarian Violin School

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:12:00 +0000

Jack Pepper meets Festival Academy Budapest co-founder and Artistic Director Barnabás Kelemen to explore his upcoming concerto marathon, the gypsy violin tradition and a packed 2026 Summerfest

This podcast has been produced in association with the Festival Academy Budapest.

The World Should Know', The Festival Academy's Marathon Concert Series, takes place from May 1-3 at the Grand Hall of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest: https://fesztivalakademia.hu/en/let-the-world-know/

The Ilona Fehér International Violin Competition will be held from June 24 to July 5, while the Festival Academy Budapest's XI Summerfest runs from July 3-13: https://fesztivalakademia.hu/en/

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Conductor Kirill Karabits on Thomas de Hartmann's opera Esther

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:06:00 +0000

Kirill Karabits and the orchestra whose Principal Conductor he was for 15 years, the Bournemouth Symphony, have recorded the opera Esther by Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956). Written in Paris during the last years of the Second World War, and completed in 1946, Esther is based on the play by Racine which in turn draws on the biblical Book of Esther and tells of Esther's intercession to her husband King Ahasuerus on behalf her fellow Jews living in Persia. The episode is celebrated in the Jewish holiday of Purim every spring.

Released by Pentatone, the opera features Corinne Winters in the title role, Yuriy Yurchuk sings Assuérus, Andrew Foster-Williams sings Mardochée and Bernard Richter is Aman. The Grange Festival Chorus join the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. James Jolly spoke to Kirill Karabits about the project recently when he was in the UK conducting the LPO.

Today's podcast is sponsored by Kirker Holidays, creators of short breaks and tailor-made holidays for curious, discerning travellers to cultural destinations throughout Europe and beyond. For more information or to speak to one of Kirker's expert human beings, call 020 7593 2283 or visit kirkerholidays.com. And Gramophone readers who book a Kirker holiday will receive a bottle of Pol Roger champagne with which to celebrate – make sure to mention Gramophone at the time of booking.

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Composer Rachel Portman on 30 years of 'Emma'

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 09:44:00 +0000

In this week's episode of the Gramophone podcast, Georgia Keeley speaks with composer Rachel Portman, marking 30 years since her Oscar-winning soundtrack for Emma (1996), and discussing her approach to writing music for film.

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Jordi Savall on Bach's St John Passion

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:17:00 +0000

In this week's episode of the Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by one of the most acclaimed figures of today's musical world, Jordi Savall, to talk about his new recording of Bach's St John Passion, recorded with La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Le Concert Des Nations, and released on the Alia Vox label.

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Soprano Elsa Dreisig on her opera and song recital 'Invocation'

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 09:15:00 +0000

The soprano, Elsa Dreisig, has just released a new Erato album, 'Invocation'. Joined by the Orchestra e Coro dell'Opera Carlo Felice Genova conducted by Massimo Zanetti, it gathers together arias by Dvořák, Janáček, Puccini, Verdi, Gounod, Wagner, Rossini, Flotow, Peter Heise, and Carolina Uccelli, as well as songs by Grieg, Amy Beach and Bizet, all with a unifying theme.

James Jolly talked to Elsa Dreisig in Naples, where she was in rehearsals for Puccini's La bohème in which she was singing the role of Mimì.

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Peter Whelan on Handel's Messiah

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:31:00 +0000

Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by Peter Whelan, the Artistic Director of the Irish Baroque Orchestra, to talk about his new recording on the Linn label of one of the great masterpieces of all choral music - Handel's Messiah. The world-famous oratorio was premiered in Dublin, where the ensemble is based, and so on this wonderful recording they've set out to recreate the atmosphere and experience of that very first occasion. Listen now to find out more about the story behind – and about Peter Whelan's lifelong relationship to – this remarkable work.

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Nico Muhly and Peter Phillips on their new album 'No Resting Place'

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:55:00 +0000

For this week's episode, the composer Nico Muhly and the founder of the Tallis Scholars Peter Phillips join the Gramophone Podcast to talk to Editor Martin Cullingford about their beautiful new release 'No Resting Place', released on Linn Records and an Editor's Choice in the April edition of Gramophone. Reflecting on more than a decade of collaboration, they talk about how they developed a remarkable understanding of each other's creativity, and also recount the story behind the album's powerful works.

This podcast is in association with REMA/Early Music Day

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Sir Mark Elder and Huw Watkins on their new Hallé recording

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:25:00 +0000

In this week's edition of the Gramophone Podcast Editor Martin Cullingford was joined by conductor Sir Mark Elder and composer Huw Watkins to talk about the Hallé's new recording of Watkins's orchestral music, featuring his Symphony No 2, Concerto for Orchestra and Fanfare, all written specially for the Manchester ensemble.

This podcast is in association with REMA/Early Music Day

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Elektra: Edward Gardner on Strauss's opera

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 15:46:00 +0000

For this episode, we're joined by conductor Edward Gardner, who talks to Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford about his new recording of Richard Strauss's opera Elektra, which is newly released on the Chandos label. Recorded by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, and with an impressive cast led by Iréne Theorin in the title role, Gardner talks us through what it takes to bring this extraordinarily dramatic work to the stage - and to life.

This podcast is in association with REMA/Early Music Day

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Pianist Alexander Malofeev on his debut solo album, 'Forgotten Melodies'

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 16:44:00 +0000

The young Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev has just released his first album for Sony Classical. 'Forgotten Melodies' takes its name from the work by Nikolai Medtner which appears on the recording, alongside pieces by Glinka, Rachmaninov and Glazunov. The theme that links all four composers is that they were all born in Russia, but died far from their country of birth. As well as Medtner's substantial work, Malofeev also plays Rachmaninov's Second Piano Sonata in its 1931 revised version.

James Jolly caught up with Alexander Malofeev in Paris when the pianist was there as part of short European solo tour to talk about the new album, his repertoire and jumping in to replace Martha Argerich on a tour with the Rotterdam Philharmonic.

This podcast is in association with REMA/Early Music Day

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Martin James Bartlett on his new album of Bach, Mozart and Britten

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:14:00 +0000

In this week's episode of the Gramophone Podcast, editor Martin Cullingford is joined by pianist Martin James Bartlett to discuss his new recording of the music of Bach, Britten and Mozart, available on the Warner Classics label from February the 27th. Bartlett reflects on the artistic ideas that shaped this programming.

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Pianist Imogen Cooper looks back on her recording career

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 13:03:00 +0000

The celebrated pianist Dame Imogen Cooper recently announced that the coming year will be her last of public performances. To mark the occasion - and the release of her new album of late Beethoven sonatas on the Chandos label - Editor Martin Cullingford welcomed her on to the Gramophone Podcast, and invited her to select a number of her recordings that have meant the most to her.

This podcast is in association with REMA/Early Music Day

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Joyce DiDonato and Time for Three on Emily: No Prisoner Be

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 10:45:00 +0000

Kevin Puts' newest song cycle sets Emily Dickinson's poetry for mezzo and three instrumentalists. Hattie Butterworth speaks to Joyce DiDonato and ensemble Time for Three about this unique collaboration and recording, 'Emily: No Prisoner Be'

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Soprano Adriana González on her album 'Rondos for Adriana'

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:49:00 +0000

The soprano Adriana González has just released a new Audax album, 'Rondos for Adriana', inspired by her namesake, the Italian 18th-century diva Adriana Ferrarese del Bene. Ferrarese was Mozart's first Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and she sang Susanna in the Viennese revival of Le nozze di Figaro in 1789.

Joined by Ensemble Diderot (led by Johannes Pramsohler, who also plays a couple of rondos for violin and orchestra), conducted by Iñaki Encina Oyon, Adriana González performs arias and rondos by Vicente Martín y Soler, Angelo Tarchi, Ferdinando Gaspari Bertoni, Giuseppe Giordani, Pasquale Anfossi and Joseph Weigl.

James Jolly caught up with Adriana González in Vienna while she was rehearsing for her debut at the Staatsoper as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro.

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ARC Ensemble's Simon Wynberg on their Music in Exile series for Chandos

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 07:21:00 +0000

Toronto's ARC Ensemble have been exploring the music of composers forced to flee their homeland by the Nazis. The most recent release in Chandos's Music in Exile series – of music by Ernest Kanitz (1894-1978) – drew an enthusiastic welcome by Gramophone's critic Richard Bratby, a review that closed with the hope that 'there's more Kanitz to come'.

James Jolly spoke by Zoom to the ARC Ensemble's Artistic Director Simon Wynberg about the musicians of the Ensemble and the music that animates this important recording project, bringing this often totally forgotten music back to life – and also about their forthcoming visit to London's Wigmore Hall for a day of concerts on February 1.

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William Vann on Elgar's choral music

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:16:00 +0000

This month's Gramophone Podcast sees Editor Martin Cullingford joined by William Vann, Director of the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, to talk about his new album of choral music by Elgar: Light out of Darkness, released on Somm Recordings. The wonderfully-chosen selection of music spans the composer's career, and even includes five premiere recordings.

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Marina Rebeka and Edgardo Vertanessian on their record label, Prima Classic

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 09:31:00 +0000

The soprano Marina Rebeka and her husband, the sound engineer Edgardo Vertanessian, founded their record label, Prima Classic in 2018, and in the years since have built up an impressive catalogue. To coincide with the release of their latest project, Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, recorded live in Naples, they talk to Gramophone's James Jolly about what inspired them to create the label and how they approach developing their catalogue.

This podcast was made in association with Prima Classic, and all the music included in the podcast comes fom the Prima Classic catalogue.

The new recording of Simon Boccanegra features Ludovic Tézier in the title role, Marina Rebeka as Amelia Grimaldi, Francesco Melli as Gabriele Adorno, Michele Pertusi as Jacopo Fiesco, Mattia Olivieri as Paolo, and Andrea Pellegrini as Pietro with the Chorus and Orchestra of Naples's Teatro San Carlo conducted by Michele Spotti.

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Exploring Beethoven

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 09:29:00 +0000

In this week's Gramophone Podcast, the last of 2025, we explore the life and music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Editor Emeritus James Jolly talks to Richard Wigmore – a long-standing contributor to our pages, and an expert on the music of the classical and early romantic periods – about this musical Titan. They discuss Beethoven's transformative role, through the three periods that have been applied to his creative life, in expanding the range, scale and ambition of pretty well every genre he tackled, from the symphonies and concertos, via his piano sonatas and chamber music, to his opera and choral works.

All the music on this podcast comes from the Sony Classical catalogue, including the Gramophone Award-winning sets of the complete piano sonatas and the Diabelli Variations played by Igor Levit, as well as the symphonies from Antonello Manacorda and Kammerakademie Potsdam, Murray Perahia with members of the English Chamber Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Bernard Haitink, the Juilliard Quartet, Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber, and, in Fidelio, Jeanine Altmeyer and Siegfried Jerusalem with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and Kurt Masur. All Sony Classical recordings.

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Critics Choice 2025

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 11:33:00 +0000

As another year of preparing and publishing many hundreds of reviews draws to a close, the three team members most involved - Reviews Editor Gavin Dixon, Deputy Editor Tim Parry, and Editor and Publisher Martin Cullingford - take time out to discuss what lies behind the process, and how we decide which albums are named Gramophone Editor's Choices. And, after that, they celebrate their own personal pick of the year, explaining which recording they chose for our annual Critics' Choice feature, and why it so impressed and inspired them.

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Remembering Alfred Brendel, with his son Adrian Brendel

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 12:21:00 +0000

In this week's Gramophone Podcast we remember Alfred Brendel, one of the most significant and much-loved musical figures of age, in the company of his son, the cellist Adrian Brendel, who takes Editor Martin Cullingford around the pianist's library and studio and reflects on what his books, art and belongings tell us about him. He also talks about a very special event on January 5, at the Barbican in London, at which fellow artists and friends of Alfred Brendel will gather for a remarkable evening of music, to celebrate his life and also raise money for a cause very close to his heart.

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Christophe Rousset on Charpentier's Christmas music

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 00:18:00 +0000

In this week's edition of of the Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by the conductor and harpsichordist Christophe Rousset to talk about his new album of Christmas music by the 17th century composer Charpentier - called a Baroque Christmas - recorded with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, and released on the ensemble's own label, Soli Deo Gloria.

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Thomas Adès and the Ruisi Quartet on their new recording, Növények

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 17:12:00 +0000

We're joined for this week's Gramophone Podcast by composer Thomas Adès and two members of the Ruisi Quartet, violinist Alessandro Ruisi and viola player Luba Tunnicliffe, to talk about their recording of Növények, Adès's setting of seven Hungarian poems for mezzo-soprano and piano sextet. They explore this fascinating work with Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford, which is newly released on the Platoon label along with Haydn's String Quartet in G Minor Op 20, No 3, and an arrangement of A legszebb Virág by Ligeti.

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Samantha Ege and Leah Broad on Avril Coleridge-Taylor

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:11:00 +0000

Hattie Butterworth is joined by pianist and historian Samantha Ege and author Leah Broad to discuss the life and music of composer Avril Coleridge-Taylor as the first recording of her orchestral music and piano concerto is released on Resonus

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Conductor Klaus Mäkelä on performing Mahler's Eighth at the 2025 Mahler Festival

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 17:32:00 +0000

In May this year, the Concertgebouw – Amsterdam's legendary concert hall – played host to the 2025 Mahler Festival. Originally scheduled for 2000, the centenary of the first such event, but moved back by five years due to the pandemic, the Mahler Festival saw all of Mahler's symphonies performed chronologically over two weeks, and performed by a handful of the world's great orchestras. The Eighth Symphony fell to the local band, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and their Chief Conductor Designate, Klaus Mäkelä, who gave two performances, both of which were recorded. And that recording has just been released by Decca – digitally worldwide, with a CD version available in Japan and Korea to coincide with the orchestra's first tour of Asia with Mäkelä before Christmas.

James Jolly caught up with Klaus Mäkelä to talk about the conductor's continuing fascination with Mahler's music, and particularly with the Eighth Symphony, the performances of which were clearly a highpoint in the conductor's career so far.

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Pianist Mao Fujita on concluding his preludes project

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:54:00 +0000

Mao Fujita, who took second prize in the Piano category at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition, released an album on Sony Classical of 72 preludes back in the autumn of 2024 – the three sets of 24 by Chopin, Scriabin and Akio Yashiro. Now as a pendant to that project he has recorded another six, by Ravel, Rachmaninov, Mompou, Franck, Busoni and Alkan. These have been issued individually over the past couple of months, and on November 28 they are all gathered together as an EP.

James Jolly caught up with Mao Fujita in the summer at the Verbier Festival and spoke to him about the 72 preludes album, the new six preludes, and his plans for the future.

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Composer and author Robin Holloway on celebrating 900 years of classical music

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:37:00 +0000

The composer, academic and writer Robin Holloway has just published a new book, Music's Odyssey, An Invitation to Western Classical Music (Allen Lane). He's Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Cambridge, where James Jolly went to visit him a couple of weeks ago to talk about the book's genesis and aims.

The podcast features an excerpt from Holloway's Second Concerto for Orchestra played by the BBC SO conducted by Oliver Knussen on NMC which won Gramophone's Contemporary Music Award in 1994, and also one from Hans Werner Henze's Undine, played by the London Sinfonietta, also conducted by Oliver Knussen on DG.

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Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky on his new album 'Gelosia!'

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 07:19:00 +0000

The French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky has just released a new Erato album of cantatas da camera by Alessandro Scarlatti, Porpora, Galuppi, Handel and Vivaldi, 'Gelosia!'. On it he also conducts his ensemble Artaserse, which he founded in 2002, and with which he increasingly appears solely as conductor rather than as singer.

Gramophone's James Jolly went to talk to him in Paris about the new album, but also about a major milestone in his musical career, 25 years of making recordings for Erato.

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The Hermes Experiment on their new album, Tree

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 10:34:00 +0000

The Hermes Experiment - an ever-innovative, exploratory and imaginative ensemble - have released their new album, Tree, a meditation on nature, memory and change embracing contemporary composers and reimagined music from the past. Two members of the group, soprano Héloïse Werner and clarinetist Oliver Pashley - who also both have compositions on the album - joined Editor Martin Cullingford in the Gramophone Podcast studio to discuss this beautiful release.

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Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2025: The Winners

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 11:54:00 +0000

In this special edition of the Gramophone Podcast, we explore the full list of winners from this year's Gramophone Classical Music Awards. Editor Emeritus James Jolly, Editor Martin Cullingford, Deputy Editor Tim Parry and Editor of Opera Now and Choir & Organ Hattie Butterworth talk through the Category Winners, the Special Awards, and of course the new Recording of the Year – complete with excerpts of every album.

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Maxim Emelyanychev on Mozart's symphonies

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 14:52:00 +0000

For this week's Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford travelled to Padua to talk to Maxim Emelyanychev, Chief Conductor of Il Pomo d'Oro, about recording Mozart symphonies - and specially their latest release of Symphonies Nos 35 and 36, and Violin Concerto No 3 - on period instruments for the Aparté label.

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Tine Thing Helseth on Echoes, her new album of trumpet concertos

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 22:48:00 +0000

This week's guest on the Gramophone Podcast is trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth, who talks to Editor Martin Cullingford about her new recording on the Lawo label. Called 'Echoes', it features works by Arutiunian, Penderecki and Weinberg - she talks about the album, as well as her wider work championing her instrument and its repertoire.

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Ian Page on the music of Gluck

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 17:33:00 +0000

In this week's Gramophone Podcast, the conductor Ian Page joins Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about the music of the 18th-century composer Gluck, setting him in the context of musical developments of his time. The conversation marks the release of the new album from his ensemble The Mozartists - a recording of arias from Gluck operas, sung by Ann Hallenberg, and newly released on Signum Classics.

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Anastasia Kobekina on Bach's Cello Suites | Gramophone Podcast

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 05:00:00 +0000

In this week's Gramophone Podcast, cellist Anastasia Kobekina talks about her new recording of one of the most revered series of works for her instrument - Bach's Solo Cello Suites. While the album isn't released by Sony Classical until next Friday (September 26), three movements are already available as singles, and in this side ranging conversation with Editor Martin Cullingford Kobekina talks about interpreting music from the Baroque through to the present day.

The Gramophone Podcast will now be included in The British Library Sound Archive, catalogued and preserved for future generations as part of the nation's audio and cultural heritage.

Gramophone Magazine is a leading monthly publication for classical music, offering expert reviews, in-depth interviews, and industry insights. Available in print and online, it connects enthusiasts with the best recordings, artists, and trends in classical music worldwide.

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Composer John Rutter: a birthday conversation

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:44:00 +0000

One of the most-performed composers of our time, Sir John Rutter, celebrates his 80th birthday on September 24. To mark the occasion Harmonia Mundi has released an album of his choral music sung by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, directed by Graham Ross – 'John Rutter: A Clare College Celebration'. And next week Decca releases an all-orchestral collection, 'Reflections', that includes a performance of Rutter's piano concerto, which gives the album its title. Rutter himself conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Steven Osborne the piano soloist.

James Jolly went to visit Sir John at his home to talk about the new releases but also reflect on his long association with Clare College, and much else.

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Rowan Pierce on recording Bach, Handel and Vivaldi | Gramophone Podcast

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Soprano Rowan Pierce joins Jonathan Whiting to reflect on the intimacy of making chamber-scale Baroque music without a conductor, the challenges of Bach's expansive recitatives, and the almost operatic drama of Handel's 'Tra le fiamme'. She also speaks about her long collaboration with Ashley Solomon, the ensemble's director, and about finding new colours and meaning in these works – music that, though written three centuries ago, resonates with striking relevance today.

We were also incredibly honoured to recently learn that the Gramophone Magazine Podcast will now be included in The British Library Sound Archive, catalogued and preserved for future generations as part of the nation's audio and cultural heritage.

To hear other Gramophone podcasts, or to subscribe for free to new editions, search for 'Gramophone' in your Podcast App of choice, or visit Gramophone's page on Apple or Spotify.

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Composer Jake Heggie on 25 years of writing operas

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 09:09:00 +0000

Composer jake Heggie joins Hattie Butterworth to speak about the recording release of 'Intelligence', an opera premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 2023 and out now on the LSO Live label. They also look back on 25 years since Heggie's first opera 'Dead Man Walking' was premiered and ahead to a new production of the work at English National Opera in November

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Cellist Alisa Weilerstein on recording new concertos by Gabriela Ortiz and Richard Blackford

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 08:37:00 +0000

During the 2024-25 season, Alisa Weilerstein premiered three new cello concertos – Richard Blackford's The Recovery of Paradise (which she has recorded for Pentatone with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Tomáš Netopil), Gabriela Ortiz's Dzonot (recorded for Platoon with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel) and Thomas Larcher's Returning into Darkness (premiered with the New York Philharmonic).

James Jolly caught up with Alisa to talk about the two new recordings and also hear about her Fragments project that she's bringing to London as part of a South Bank Centre residency later this year.

The Gramophone Podcast will now be included in The British Library Sound Archive, catalogued and preserved for future generations as part of the nation's audio and cultural heritage.

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The Dover Quartet on recording Woodland Songs | Gramophone Podcast

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 07:34:00 +0000

Joel and Camden from the Dover Quartet meet Hattie Butterworth in Philadelphia to discuss their latest album, Woodland Songs, which places the music of Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate and Pura Fé alongside the Dvorak 'American' String Quartet in F Major. Though vastly different works in style, expression, and historical context, they share the common influence of music native to North America.

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Mandolinist Avi Avital on his new album 'Song of the Birds' | Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 09:28:00 +0000

The mandolin player Avi Avital, with his ensemble Between Worlds, has just released a new DG album 'Song of the Birds' which crosses boundaries to explore the musics of three geographical regions – Iberia, southern Italy (Puglia) and the Black Sea – with vivid results. For this week's Gramophone Podcast, James Jolly caught up Avi Avital while he was on tour in Northern Germany to talk about the new album.

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Live from 2025 Three Choirs Festival

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 12:26:00 +0000

Join Hattie at the 2025 Three Choirs Festival in Hereford as she speaks to performers, composers, clergy and audience members to discover what makes the festival such a place of pilgrimage 300 years since its foundation

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Cellist Guy Johnston on the Bliss Cello Concerto | Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Guy Johnston joins Hattie Butterworth to discuss his latest recording of the Arthur Bliss Cello Concerto with Andrew Manze and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

A technical mine field, the concerto was written for the great cellist Rostropovich and premiered with Benjamin Britten conducting at the 1970 Aldeburgh Festival. Guy also speaks about his dedication to pedagogy and gives details of more upcoming English cello recordings he has in the pipeline.

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2025 BBC Proms: Our Top Picks | Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 06:30:00 +0000

As the 2025 BBC Proms season gets underway, Martin Cullingford is joined by Tim Parry and Hattie Butterworth select their top picks. From Rachmaninov with Yunchan Lim and the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Cello Concerto to a late-night tribute to Arvo Pärt and a rare performance of Delius's A Mass of Life, the team reflects on the Proms's cultural significance, its breadth of programming, and the enduring tradition of live music at the Royal Albert Hall.

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Julian Bream: an archive interview from 2013 with the great guitarist

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 12:32:00 +0000

We're today continuing the theme set by last week's edition, in which we marked the 500th episode of the Gramophone Classical Music podcast by looking back over some of our most memorable interviews and episodes. The interview Editor Martin Cullingford chose to reflect on was a conversation he had with the guitarist Julian Bream all the way back in 2013, to mark his 80th birthday and also the fact that Gramophone had honoured him with our Lifetime Achievement Award. So here, for this week's podcast, we offer a retrospective edition - and a chance to hear at full length that earlier episode.

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Music and conversation: 500 episodes of the Gramophone Podcast

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 11:04:00 +0000

Earlier this year the Gramophone Podcast passed 1 million downloads. Now we've reached another milestone: our 500th episode. Launched before podcasting's current popularity, the series steadily built a following, which grew substantially once we adopted a weekly schedule and set formats.

Those formats include: interviews with major artists on new albums; in-depth composer discussions; reflections with senior musical figures; and conversations with a new generation of musicians rethinking the artist's role today.

In a special celebratory edition, James Jolly, Martin Cullingford, Tim Parry and Hattie Butterworth each choose a standout: Julian Bream on a life in music; William Christie on Mondonville; Richard Wigmore on the enduring brilliance of Schubert and Fatma Said on collaboration.

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Orchestra of the Year 2025: exploring this year's nominees

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 08:13:00 +0000

Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford speaks to James Jolly about the 2025 Orchestra of the Year nominated orchestras, discussing the impact each of them has made to recordings and the wider musical landscape

To vote for Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year 2025, head to gramophone.co.uk/vote25

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Conductor John Andrews on recording The Seal Woman

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Conductor John Andrews joins Hattie Butterworth to speak about the debut recording of Sir Granville Bantock and Marjory Kennedy-Fraser's folk opera, The Seal Woman. They explore the folk song collecting of Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, as well as Andrews's commitment to uncovering lesser-known repertoire

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Mezzo Kitty Whately on unknown French song

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Kitty Whately joins Hattie Butterworth to discuss her new album on Chandos with pianist Edwige Herchenroder titled Horizons: French Melodies. They also explore the historic erasure of women composers, as well as Kitty's ongoing advocacy and research

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20 Years of VOCES8 with co-founders Paul & Barnaby Smith and soprano Andrea Haines

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 09:50:00 +0000

The vocal ensemble VOCES8 are marking their 20th anniversay with a new release – out today – celebrating the full breadth of their creativity, and an exciting season of concerts. Editor Martin Cullingford sat down with three of the key figures behind this most innovative of ensembles – the co-founders Barnaby Smith, Artistic Director, and Paul Smith, CEO, and soprano and long-standing member of the group Andrea Haines – to look back over 20 years of creativity and achievement, and forward to the future.

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Conductor Andris Nelsons on the influence of Shostakovich

Fri, 30 May 2025 14:34:00 +0000

This week's Gramophone podcast is a special focus on one of the most significant of 20th century composers, Dimitri Shostakovich, the 50th anniversary of whose death we mark this year. As our guide to his music we're privileged to have conductor Andris Nelsons, who, together with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has just reached the end of a journey through all his symphonies, plus the concertos for cello, piano and violin, all recently released by Deutsch Grammophon.

Across half an hour of fascinating insight, he tells Editor Martin Cullingford about how he responds to Shostakovich's music and life, and about what makes the composer's music so distinct, and so remarkable.

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Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau at 100: Richard Wigmore discusses the great baritone's Winterreise recordings

Fri, 23 May 2025 08:12:00 +0000

The German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's 100th birthday falls on May 28. One of the most versatile singers of the last century – his operatic repertoire alone ranged from Gluck, Handel and Mozart via Verdi, Wagner and Richard Strauss to Berg, Busoni and Reimann – it's his devotion to song that remains his lasting legacy. To mark the anniversary of Fischer-Dieskau's birth, Gramophone's James Jolly spoke to song specialist and author of Schubert: The Complete Song Texts (Schirmer: 1988), Richard Wigmore.

They focused on Fischer-Dieskau's audio recordings of Schubert's greatest song-cycle Winterreise (1828) which include three with Gerald Moore, as well as versions with Klaus Billing, Hermann Reuter, Daniel Barenboim, Jörg Demus, Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia and Maurizio Pollini.

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Masaaki and Masato Suzuki on Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem

Fri, 16 May 2025 14:33:00 +0000

In this week's episode, Editor Martin Cullingford met with the founder and Music Director of Bach Collegium Japan Masaaki Suzuki, along with the group's Principal Conductor Masato Suzuki, to talk about their new recording of Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, available now on BIS – as well as discussing Bach's St John Passion, which they had performed the day prior to the interview. The interview took place last year in, appropriately enough, London's Japan House.

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Pianist Yevgeny Sudbin on returning to Scriabin's music

Fri, 09 May 2025 08:23:00 +0000

In 2007, Yevgeny Sudbin released an album of music by Alexander Scriabin. Reviewing it in Gramophone, Bryce Morrison described it as a 'disc in a million'. Now, Sudbin has returned to the composer for his 25th recording for BIS, and offers a wide-ranging survey of music that includes two more of the piano sonatas.

James Jolly caught up with Yevgeny Sudbin recently to talk about his relationship with the composer and his unique musical world.

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Kahchun Wong on The Hallé and Bruckner's Ninth

Fri, 02 May 2025 13:48:00 +0000

In this week's episode of the Gramophone Classical Music Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by the Principal Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra, Kahchun Wong, to talk about the orchestra's relationship with its home city, Manchester, and their new recording of Bruckner's Symphony No 9.

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Cellist Zlatomir Fung on his debut recording of opera fantasies

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 09:31:00 +0000

Zlatomir Fung won the Cello category of the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, and also has an enviable collection of other cello awards and prizes to his name. He was a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Winner in 2022 and was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2020.

His debut recording, 'Fantasies', is just out from Signum and on it he explores, with his pianist Richard Fu, a very specific genre, the virtuoso fantasy based on popular operas of the day. And Zlatomir has contributed his own fantasy based on Janáček's Jenůfa.

James Jolly went to talk to him at Henry Wood Hall in London earlier this year just before a rehearsal with the London Philharmonic with whom he was performing a couple of concerts.

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Conductor Alan Gilbert on Brahms and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 09:09:00 +0000

Alan Gilbert is Chief Conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, as well as Music Director of the Royal Swedish Opera. Gramophone's James Jolly caught up with him during a run of Wagner's Die Walküre in Stockholm, where he lives.

They talked about his Hamburg-based orchestra, the role today of a radio orchestra and also about the work orchestra and conductor have just released (on the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester label to stream and download), Brahms's Third Symphony.

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Leif Ove Andsnes on Liszt's Via Crucis

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 09:47:00 +0000

In this episode, Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford talks to pianist Leif Ove Andsnes about his new recording on Sony Classical of the extraordinary work Via Crucis by Franz Liszt, the composer's deeply spiritual meditations on the Stations of the Cross, released just before the start of Holy Week.

This week's podcast is produced in association with Wigmore Hall, where performers over the coming week include two performances by the former Gramophone Artist of the Year, pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, conductor William Christie with the ensemble that he founded, Les Arts Florissants, and the Chiaroscuro Quartet. For full details of these concerts, and many more, visit https://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

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Jessica Duchen on the life of pianist Myra Hess

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 16:17:00 +0000

This week journalist and author Jessica Duchen joins Holly Baker to talk about her new book Myra Hess - National Treasure, which is out now on Kahn & Averill.

Extracts of music on the podcast come from the album 'Myra Hess - The complete solo and concerto studio recordings' on APR Records

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James Ehnes on Bach's complete violin concertos

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 20:10:00 +0000

This week violinist James Ehnes joins the Gramophone Podcast to talk about his new recording of Bach's complete violin concertos, recorded with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, and released on the Analeketa label.

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Attacca Quartet on Ravel and relationships

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 14:22:00 +0000

The two-time Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet has seen stratospheric success in recent years across new and popular music collaborations. Hattie Butterworth meets the group as their debut album with Platoon of Ravel's String Quartet is released.

Music clips:

Ravel String Quartet – Platoon PLAT26294

Entr'acte by Caroline Shaw from Orange – Nonesuch 7559792609

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Anna Dennis and Julian Perkins on John Weldon's The Judgment of Paris

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 22:44:00 +0000

John Weldon, born in 1676, was an English composer and pupil of Henry Purcell. Keyboardist Julian Perkins and soprano Anna Dennis join Hattie Butterworth to discuss the world premiere recording of Weldon's opera 'The Judgment of Paris', recorded by the Academy of Ancient Music and Cambridge Handel Opera

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Pianist Bertrand Chamayou on his 'Ravel Fragments' album

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 09:49:00 +0000

Maurice Ravel was born 150 years ago, on March 7, 1875, and he is the subject of numerous tributes this season. Bertrand Chamayou recorded the complete piano works ten years ago for Erato ('No one who loves French music or exquisite piano-playing will want to miss this' wrote Patrick Rucker in Gramophone), a set that incidentally has just been released on LP. So, by way of a supplement, he has curated a programme that weaves a handful of Ravel transcriptions together with tributes and memorials by other composers.

James Jolly went to visit Bertrand at his home in Paris this week to talk about the new album, but also to discuss Ravel's place in the pianist's repertoire.

This Gramophone Podcast is given in association with Wigmore Hall

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Ian Bostridge and Saskia Georgini on Schumann songs

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:40:00 +0000

Tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Saskia Georgini join Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford this week to talk about their new album of Schumann Songs, Twilight, released on the Pentatone label.

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Nevermind on Bach's Goldberg Variations

Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:58:00 +0000

For this edition of the Gramophone Podcast Editor Martin Cullingford was joined by three of the four members of the French ensemble Nevermind - flute player Anna Besson, viola da gamba player Robin Pharo and harpsichordist Jean Rondeau - to talk about the group's new creative exploration of Bach's Goldberg Variations, newly released on the Alpha label.

This Gramophone Podcast is given in association with Wigmore Hall

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Baritone Benjamin Appl on his collaboration with György Kurtág

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 08:14:00 +0000

The baritone Benjamin Appl has recorded an album for Alpha that combines the music of György Kurtág with that of Franz Schubert. 'Lines of Life: Schubert & Kurtág' is the result of a long process that started with Kurtág choosing the singer for this unique project and working with him on the music, and finally producing the recording - and even playing the piano for Appl in two songs that close the programme.

James Jolly met up with Benjamin Appl – a former Gramophone Young Artist of the Year – to talk about the album, but also about another recording that's on the horizon, his tribute to his teacher, and one of the great Lieder singers of the post-war period, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the 100th anniversary of whose birth falls in May.

This Gramophone Podcast is given in association with Wigmore Hall

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María Dueñas on Paganini's Caprices

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 10:51:00 +0000

For this week's Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford talked to violinist María Dueñas to talk about her wonderful new album of Paganini's 24 Caprices - as well as works by successors who were influenced by the style - which is available now on Deutsche Grammophon.

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Pianist Samson Tsoy on his debut solo album, 'Inmost Heart'

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 09:42:00 +0000

The pianist Samson Tsoy makes his solo debut on record with an album for Linn, 'Inmost Heart'. Built around Brahms's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, the programme explores Brahms's fascination with the Baroque, but also how his music was later transcribed by Reger and Busoni.

This Gramophone Podcast is given in association with Wigmore Hall

James Jolly visited Samson at his North London home to talk about the new album, his journey from Kazakhstan to London via Moscow, and how he plans to incorporate music from the album into his concert programmes.

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Fatma Said on lieder and friendship

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 23:05:00 +0000

Soprano Fatma Said shares the closeness she feels to the world of lieder and how this has lead to her latest album on Warner Classics. She speaks to Hattie Butterworth about the element of friendship within a musicians' professional and personal life, as well as her creative decisions throughout the album to include a number of pianists and instrumentalists, and even a male voice choir

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Pianist Dmitry Masleev on his Dies irae-themed Liszt & Rachmaninov album

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 11:11:00 +0000

Dmitry Masleev took first prize in the Piano category of the 2015 Tchaikovsky International Competition and since then has released a number of recordings. The latest, from Aparté, is a concertante collection of Liszt's Totentanz, his Rhapsodie espagnole (in a version for piano and orchestra made by Masleev's professor at the Moscow Conservatoire, Mikhail Petukhov) and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. He was joined by the Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra.

James Jolly, who first met Masleev during the 2019 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, caught up with him again to talk about how the competition changed the course of his career, the new album and how the Dies irae theme infuses so many great classical works.

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Seong-Jin Cho on Ravel's piano music

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 08:09:00 +0000

Seong-Jin Cho, the 30-year-old pianist and winner of the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, has been entrusted by Deutsche Grammophon to spearhead the company's celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great French composer, Maurice Ravel.

The first release, out on January 17, contains the complete solo piano works, and the second, due on February 21, is of the two piano concertos (a live recording with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons).

Gramophone's James Jolly caught up with Seong-Jin Cho just after the pianist had performed the complete solo works in a single evening in Liechtenstein to talk about Ravel's important contribution to the piano repertoire.

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James McVinnie on his new album, Dreamcatcher

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 20:25:00 +0000

Organist and pianist James McVinnie's new album 'Dreamcatcher' is a beautiful series of works by contemporary composers including Nico Muhly, John Adams, Giles Swayne, Gabriella Smith, Meredith Monk and others, all based around ideas of imagining – be that to do with memory, architecture, musical form or social justice. He joins Editor Martin Cullingford in this week's Podcast to talk through the programme, and about the sound world he's created for this captivating recording. 'Dreamcatcher' is available on the Pentatone label from next Friday, January 17.

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Pianists Yevgeny Sudbin and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet in conversation with James Jolly

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 08:07:00 +0000

Last August Gramophone's James Jolly travelled to Montana in the USA, to sample the musical, artistic and architectural wonders of Tippet Rise, an arts centre created by Peter and Cathy Halstead on a 12,000 acre working ranch. As well as possesssing a wonderful concert hall, Tippet Rise also plays host to numerous large sculptures, some of which can also be used as performance spaces. And for a number of weekends each year musicians from all over the world come to perform at Tippet Rise.

In 2024, pianists Yevgeny Sudbin and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet were among the performers and James took the opportunity, made considerably easier by Tippet Rise's state-of-the-art recording facilities, to sit down with them to talk about pianos, recording, repertoire and the place in which they all found ourselves …

The photograph was taken in The Olivier Music Barn, Tippet Rise's concert hall, in front of Mark di Suvero's painting Seminal (1978-82, acrylic on linen).

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Charles Villiers Stanford: Jeremy Dibble on the composer's music

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 17:35:00 +0000

In a special edition of the Gramophone Podcast, we explore the music of Charles Villiers Stanford with the leading expert on the composer, Jeremy Dibble, who joins Editor Martin Cullingford to mark the centenary year of Stanford's death. Though arguably still best known today for his church music, we discuss the full breadth of Stanford's works, including his symphonies, songs, chamber music, and his operas - the latter a genre he was devoted to throughout his life.

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Conductor William Christie: An 80th birthday conversation

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 10:37:00 +0000

William Christie, the founder - and guiding spirit for the past 45 years – of Les Arts Florissants, celebrates his 80th birthday on December 19.

Gramophone's James Jolly went to visit him at home in Paris to talk about his long career and its colossal impact of the rediscovery of the music of his adopted homeland. Since leaving the USA in the early 1970s and settling in France, Christie has been a major figure both in concert and on record (with a clutch of Gramophone Awards to his name), focusing on music of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Their conversation ranged widely taking in memories of the harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick, the countertenor Alfred Deller, the founder of Harmonia Mundi Bernard Coutaz, and many others.

Musical excerpts are from from his Harmonia Mundi catalogue, including his latest release 'Bill and Friends' which finds him performing with a host of young musicians.

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Rob Cowan on George Szell's Cleveland Orchestra Beethoven symphonies

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 09:29:00 +0000

George Szell took over the Cleveland Orchestra in 1946, and, once he had created the instrument he needed, he started an extensive series of recordings for CBS (American Columbia, now Sony Classical). The focus was on the great works of the Austro-German repertoire and, needless to say, the nine Beethoven symphonies and a selection of overtures were among them (recorded between 1957 and 1967). Sony Classical have just gathered together the symphonies and overtures from the large 'George Szell Complete Columbia Collection' set from 2018, and are releasing them on seven CDs on December 13 and also digitally (already available).

James Jolly went to talk to Gramophone's long-serving contributor Rob Cowan about the recordings, and also about George Szell as a conductor in general.

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Benjamin Nicholas on Gabriel Jackson's The Christmas Story

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 19:21:00 +0000

Benjamin Nicholas, Music Director of Merton College, Oxford joins Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about his new recording of Gabriel Jackson's The Christmas Story. This major new commission by the college, available now on the Delphian label, has been recorded by the Choir and Girl Choristers of Merton College and the Oxford Contemporary Sinfonia, and is an Editor's Choice in the latest edition of Gramophone.

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Thélème's Director Jean-Christophe Groffe on pairing John Dowland and John Cage

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 09:59:00 +0000

Thélème won Gramophone's Early Music Award in 2022 with their Aparté album of music by Josquin Desprez, 'Baisiez-moi'. Now they return with a new programme, also for Aparté, 'All we get is life', that brings together the music of John Dowland and John Cage – with an extra track featuring Sting in his song 'Shape of my Heart' which he performs alongside Thélème.

James Jolly caught up with Thélème's Director and one of his vocalists, Jean-Christophe Groffe, to talk about what made him bring these two composers together on a single album.

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Pianist Charles Owen on 'The Young Schumann'

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 07:11:00 +0000

The British pianist Charles Owen has made some fine recordings, securing a quartet of Gramophone Editor's Choice accolades for albums of Poulenc, Jonathan Dove, Liszt and, with the violinist Augustin Hadelich, a collection of Czech music. Now, for Avie, he turns his attention to the music of Robert Schumann from the 1830s, including Carnaval, Papillons, the Intermezzi Op 4 and the Abegg Variations.

James Jolly caught up with Charles recently in London to talk about the album, how Schumann's fascination with the duality of his character infuses these early works, and also about the luxury of recording in a beautiful restored barn deep in The Cotswolds without having to worry about the strict timetable of a commercial recording studio.

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Alec Frank-Gemmill on Mozart's horn concertos

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 21:04:00 +0000

In this week's Gramophone Podcast, the horn player Alec Frank-Gemmill joins Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about his beautiful new recording of Mozart's horn concertos, released today on the BIS label.

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Pianist Alexandre Kantorow on his new Brahms, Schubert and Liszt album

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 08:59:00 +0000

Alexandre Kantorow was winner of the piano category at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition as well as the recipient of that year's Grand Prix. One of the world's finest young musicians, he has recorded a series of much-praised albums for BIS. And the latest release – a Gramophone Editor's Choice in the November 2024 issue – completes the trio of recordings of the three youthful piano sonatas by Johannes Brahms. It's joined by Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy and a selection of Schubert songs in Liszt's transcriptions.

James Jolly caught up with Alexandre in Paris recently to talk about the new release, and also to find out about his plans for the future.

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Pianist Hanni Liang on her new album 'Voices'

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 16:23:00 +0000

Pianist Hanni Liang speaks to Hattie Butterworth about her new album 'Voices' on Delphian Records formed around Liang's interest in Ethel Smyth's music and life. They also speak about Liang's musical upbringing and her move towards doing things differently on the concert platform. She shares the cultural differences between China and the west, and what it was like growing up in Germany with Chinese parents.

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Handel in Rome, with Nardus Williams and John Butt

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 16:29:00 +0000

For this week's Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by soprano Nardus Williams and Director of the Dunedin Consort John Butt to talk about their new album exploring the music Handel wrote during his years in Rome, a young composer still in the early stages of his creativity. 'Handel in Rome' is released on Linn Records, and available now.

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Rafael Payare on the music of Schoenberg

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 17:32:00 +0000

For this week's Podcast, Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by Rafael Payare, Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal to talk about the music of Schoenberg in the year that marks the composer's 150th anniversary. The focus is his beautiful new recording of Pelleas und Melisande and Verklärte Nacht, which is available today on the Pentatone label.

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The 2024 Gramophone Classical Music Awards

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:04:00 +0000

The 2024 Gramophone Classical Music Awards were revealed on Wednesday October 2, and for this week's edition of the Podcast Editor Emeritus James Jolly, Editor and Publisher Martin Cullingford, and Deputy Editor – and Editor of International Piano – Tim Parry, gathered in the studio to discuss the winners. From Instrumental to Opera, and from Early to Contemporary, join us as we discuss and celebrate the finest albums of the past year.

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Claire Booth on the character of Pierrot

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 09:55:00 +0000

Claire Booth speaks to Hattie Butterworth about her new album with Ensemble 360, 'Pierrot Portraits', focussed around Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire and looking at other composer's interpretations of the character of Pierrot across time.

All audio clips come from Pierrot Portraits by Claire Booth and Ensemble 360 out now on Onyx Classics

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Mendelssohn Piano Trios, with Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk and Steven Isserlis

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 17:51:00 +0000

Editor Martin Cullingford is this week joined by violinist Joshua Bell, pianist Jeremy Denk and cellist Steven Isserlis to talk about their new recording for Sony Classical of Mendelssohn piano trios.

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Baritone Huw Montague Rendall on his debut album 'Contemplation'

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 09:40:00 +0000

Huw Montague Rendall is a singer who is making waves in the musical world, and he has just released his debut album with orchestra, 'Contemplation'. Signed to Erato by Alain Lanceron, Rendall gives us a superb showcase of his talents with a programme that ranges widely, and reveals many different facets of this fine young artist. Huw's partners for the album are the Opéra Orchestre Normandie Rouen and conductor Ben Glassberg.

The son of two distinguished singers – the mezzo Diana Montague and the tenor David Rendall – Huw talks to James Jolly about 'Contemplation'.

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Celebrating 50 years of BIS: Part 2

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 07:11:00 +0000

On October 2, the Swedish label BIS will hand over its Label of the Year Award to another company. So, to celebrate its 2023 Award, Gramophone's James Jolly sat down to talk with BIS's founder and guiding spirit for past 50 years, Robert von Bahr.

In this second of two podcasts, Robert discusses some of the outstanding artists who have recorded for BIS, including Bach Collegium Japan, Johan Dalene (who appears on the cover of the October issue of Gramophone), Yevgeny Sudbin, Carolyn Sampson and Sharon Bezaly, Robert's wife.

This podcast was made in association with BIS.

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Semyon Bychkov on the music of Dvořák

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 15:09:00 +0000

In this week's Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by the conductor Semyon Bychkov to talk about his new recording with the Czech Philharmonic for the Pentatone label of the music of Dvořák - the composer's last three symphonies, Nos 7, 8 and 9, along with three concert overtures, In Nature's Realm, Carnival and Othello.

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Celebrating 50 years of BIS: Part 1

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 09:26:00 +0000

In almost exactly one month's time, the Swedish label BIS will hand over its Label of the Year status to another company. So, to celebrate its 2023 Award, Gramophone's James Jolly sat down to talk with BIS's founder and guiding spirit for past 50 years, Robert von Bahr.

In this first of two podcasts, James and Robert discuss the label's beginnings, some of its milestone projects and Robert shares some anecdotes as only he can.

This podcast was made in association with BIS.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bryce Dessner on his new album 'Solos'

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 11:13:00 +0000

Composer Bryce Dessner joins Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford for this week's podcast to talk about his new album for Sony Classical, featuring solo works performed by a superb line-up of star soloists.

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Composer Anna Clyne on her new album 'Shorthand'

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 05:00:00 +0000

A new album mapping 10 years of string writing, Anna Clyne's Shorthand takes its name from a concerto for cello and strings, performed on the album by Yo Yo Ma. Hattie Butterworth meets Anna to speak about this new project, as well as her BBC Proms commission and the impact of words, poetry and spirituality on her writing.

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Alexandra Dariescu on the piano concertos of Clara Schumann and Edvard Grieg

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 15:03:00 +0000

This week on the Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford meets pianist Alexandra Dariescu who has recorded the piano concertos of Clara Schumann and Edvard Grieg for Signum with the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Tianyi Lu. Dariescu talks about her passion for Clara Schumann's concerto, and why she thinks it should be much more widely performed than it has been historically.

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Leonard Bernstein the Composer – with Edward Seckerson

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 08:59:00 +0000

Leonard Bernstein (1918-90) was perhaps the most 'complete' classical musician of the last century, as composer (covering everything from Broadway musicals to serial orchestral works), conductor (one of the 20th century's most admired), teacher or pianist.

Edward Seckerson interviewed Bernstein for Gramophone in December 1989, but his admiration went back much further, as he reveals to James Jolly in this next instalment in our occasional series focusing on major composers.

The music is drawn from Bernstein's extensive CBS catalogue, now available from Sony Classical.

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