Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Sir Stephen Cleobury died on Friday, aged 70 - just two months since he had retired as Music Director of King's College, Cambridge, a post he'd held for 37 years. In tribute, we're republishing the last of the many interviews Gramophone conducted with him across his career, in which we discussed the then new release of music by Herbert Howells, and look back across his time leading the music at King's.

Maxim Emelyanychev joins the Scottish Chamber Orchestra as its new Principal Conductor, an occasion marked by the release, on Linn Records, of a new recording of Schubert's Great C major Symphony. Maxim was in the UK this summer conducting Handel at Glyndebourne and at Covent Garden. Gramophone's James Jolly caught up with him at the Royal Opera House to talk about his new role, his very wide-ranging musical sympathies and his approach to Schubert's last symphony.

The Tallis Scholars's acclaimed series of recordings of the Masses of Josquin reaches Volume 8. Featuring what may be the last Mass the composer wrote, along with a Mass not by Josquin but once thought to have been by him, this penultimate volume certainly raises some fascinating questions! To discuss them, the Tallis Scholars's founder and director Peter Phillips joins Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford on this week's podcast - which features excerpts from the album, available now on Gimell.

The pianist and conductor Lars Vogt has just released a new recording of Brahms's D minor Concerto with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, directing from the keyboard. James Jolly met him to discuss the project, released on the Ondine label.

Jonathan Biss has been recording the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas for the past nine years. Now, as he reaches the end of the journey with Vol 9, Gramophone's James Jolly caught up with the pianist to talk about this extraordinary series of works. Excerpts are taken from the album, released today by Orchid Classics.

Elgar's Cello Concerto was premiered 100 years ago today, and to mark the anniversary Julian Lloyd Webber joins Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford to explore the work, its performance and recording history, and to discuss why it still speaks so powerfully to audiences today. The podcast features excerpts from Julian Lloyd Webber's own recording of the work with Yehudi Menuhin, on the Philips label.

For his new album, the pianist Joseph Moog has chosen to explore the music of Franz Liszt, presenting works from across the composer's life, including his monumental Sonata in B Minor. Called 'Between Heaven and Hell', it's available on the Onyx label, and in the latest Gramophone podcast Moog discusses the project with Editor Martin Cullingford.

The 2019 Gramophone Classical Music Awards have been announced! In this special edition of the Gramophone podcast, Editor-in-Chief James Jolly, Editor Martin Cullingford and Reviews Editor Tim Parry explore the winning albums, and you can hear from some of the artists honoured by Special Awards, including our Artist of the Year and Lifetime Achievement Award winners.

The pianist Boris Giltburg is recording Beethoven's five piano concertos for Naxos with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko. The first album is out with the first two piano concertos and the early Rondo, WoO6 from 1793. James Jolly met up with Boris Giltburg after a performance of the First Piano Concerto and the day before the recording sessions.

Igor Levit has just released a set, on Sony Classical, of the 32 piano sonatas, an early and very impressive contribution to the Beethoven 250 commemorations. James Jolly met him at Steinway's London showroom to talk about the sonatas, and also to find out how the pianist approached this colossal project.

2020 is Beethoven Year - he was born 250th years ago, in 1770 – and the record industry is lining up a vast number of releases in celebration. Berlin-based Deutsche Grammophon, not surprisingly, is spearheading the campaign with a huge Beethoven Edition and one of the earliest releses is a new set of the five piano concertos. The young Polish-Canadian pianist, Jan Lisiecki, joined the Academy of St Martin in the Fields for a tour which ended up in Berlin with a live recording. Lisiecki spoke to James Jolly at the Jurmula Festival in Latvia – where Jan was playing the Fourth Concerto with the Israel Philharmonic and Zubin Mehta, and he explained how this project came about and how the Fourth Concerto occupies a special place in his musical affections and career.

In the third and final of our three podcasts exploring the Gramophone Awards 2019 shortlist, Editor-in-Chief James Jolly, Editor Martin Cullingford and Reviews Editor Tim Parry discuss the Contemporary, Opera, Recital and Solo Vocal Awards.

The 2019 Gramophone Classical Music Awards are just over one month away. In the second of our three podcasts exploring the shortlist, Editor Martin Cullingford and Reviews Editor Tim Parry discuss the Early, Choral and Chamber categories.

The 2019 Gramophone Classical Music Awards are just over one month away, and in the latest issue of Gramophone we reveal the shortlist of the top three albums in each category. Over the next few weeks, the Gramophone Podcast will be devoted to exploring that shortlist. We start this week with the Editor-in-Chief James Jolly and Reviews Editor Tim Parry discussing the Orchestral, Concerto and Instrumental categories.

Jasper Parrott talks to Gramophone's James Jolly about the role of recording in an artist's professional and artistic life, and how it has changed during the 50 years that HarrisonParrott has been one of the world's leading artist management companies.

Georgian London was a glorious and artistically rich era, with a dynamic musical life, whether in concert halls, opera houses, churches or pleasure gardens. On his new album, From Palaces to Pleasure Gardens, released on the Regent label, organist Thomas Trotter celebrates this period with a programme of music performed on the newly restored 1735 Richard Bridge organ of Christ Church, Spitalfields. In this week's Gramophone podcast he talks to Editor Martin Cullingford about the works he's chosen, and about the extraordinary instrument he has recorded them on.

Danny Elfman is known to millions for his scores for over 100 movies, including many collaborations with the director Tim Burton, not to mention his inimitable title music for The Simpsons. This summer he released a new album on Sony Classical containing his Violin Concerto and Piano Quartet. The concerto, written for and played by Sandy Cameron, joined by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by John Mauceri, was the subject of a conversation Gramophone's James Jolly had with Elfman. But they started by talking about the emergence of the specialist film composer in the past 50 or so years.

In this third, and final, Orchestra of the Year Award podcast, James Jolly is joined once again by Rob Cowan to talk about the last quartet of orchestras competing for this prestigious award: Les Siècles, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. To listen to the contenders for the Orchestra of the Year Award, presented with Apple Music, go to our Awards page, sign up for a free three-month Apple Music trial subscription, listen to the playlists and cast your vote. The winner will be revealed at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards on October 16.

Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year Award is the only one offered as a public vote. Our editorial team has produced a short list of ten ensembles which have particularly impressed for their work on record over the past 12 months and, with Apple Music, has created ten playlists featuring each of the orchestras' work (as well as an 11th which includes all ten ensembles and which is updated regularly). In this, the second of three podcasts dedicted to the Award, Gramophone's Contributing Editor, the critic and broadcaster Rob Cowan, joins Gramophone's James Jolly to talk about the nominated ensembles. This week their focus is on three major European ensembles, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. To listen to these three playlists (as well as the other eight) and to vote, just visit the Apple Music page on Gramophone's website, where you can also start your free three-month trial to Apple Music.

Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year Award is the only one offered as a public vote. Our editorial team has produced a short list of ten ensembles which have particularly impressed for their work on record over the past 12 months and, with Apple Music, has created ten playlists featuring each of the orchestras' work (as well as an 11th which includes all ten ensembles and which is updated regularly). In this, the first of three weekly podcasts, Gramophone's Contributing Editor, the critic and broadcaster Rob Cowan, joins Gramophone's James Jolly to talk about the nominated ensembles. This week their focus is on the two US groups, the San Francisco Symphony and Boston Symphony Orchestra, alongside the London Symphony Orchestra. To listen to these three playlists (as well as the other eight) and to vote, just visit the Apple Music page on Gramophone's website, where you can also start your free three-month trial to Apple Music.

The tenor Nicky Spence, with Julius Drake at the piano, has just released a new recording of Janáček's 'The diary of one who disappeared' on Hyperion - Gramophone's Recording of the Month in its August issue. Almost simultaneously, Resonus has released on CD for the first time, Mark Anthony Turnage's cycle 'A Constant Obsession'. The Scottish singer talks to James Jolly about these fascinating projects.

Isata Kanneh-Mason has chosen to explore the music of Clara Schumann - whose bicentenary is marked this year - for her debut disc on Decca. Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford met with her, to talk about the life of one of the 19th century's most acclaimed virtuosos, and her often neglected music.

Edward Gardner has just released another instalment in his City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Mendelssohn cycle, a collection of overtures, and a new Brahms symphony cycle with the Bergen Philharmonic starts this autumn – both for the Chandos label. Editor-in-Chief James Jolly caught up with him to talk about recording complete series of works, how he approaches such well-know repertoire as the Brahms symphonies, and how he seeks a different sound for each composer.

For his new Signum Classics album, Hugo Ticciati and his ensemble O/Modernt have explored the ground, or chaconne, down the years. James Jolly caught up with him when O/Modernt were in London recently to talk about the album.

Sir John Tavener's The Protecting Veil was premiered at the BBC Proms 30 years ago. To coincide with the anniversary, a new recording has been issued by Signum Classics which finds Matthew Barley directing Sinfonietta Riga from the cello - James Jolly meets him.

The latest recording from King's College Cambridge explores the music of Herbert Howells, featuring choral music (including An English Mass), organ works, and a newly completed Cello Concerto. Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford met with Music Director Stephen Cleobury to talk about the album - and, as Cleobury prepares to retire from the position this summer, to look back over 37 years of extraordinary music-making.

Gramophone's current Young Artist of the Year is Lise Davidsen, a singer with a huge future ahead of her. May 31 sees the release of her much-anticipated Decca debut album, opera arias and orchestral songs by Wagner and Richard Strauss, for which she's joined by the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen. James Jolly went to see her at her home in Copenhagen for a 'Musician and the Score' article on Strauss's Four Last Songs (you can read it in Gramophone's June issue), but he also took the opportunity to talk to her more generally about this solo album.

Michael Fabiano, recently in London to sing the title-role in Gounod's Faust at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, has recorded an album of arias by Donizetti and Verdi. He was joined for the Pentatone sessions by the London Philharmonic Orchestra - with whom he'd worked at Glyndebourne – and Enrique Mazzola. James Jolly caught up with Michal Fabiano during rehearsals at Covent Garden to talk about the programme of the recital, and his interest in the operatic music of this period.

The latest recording from the choir of St John's College, Cambridge celebrates the 150th anniversary of the consecration of its chapel, and its 100th recording. Director of Music Andrew Nethsingha talks to Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford about the album - titled Locus Iste - and about how the extraordinary building shapes the choir's sound.

Kaija Saariaho has written a song-cycle, True Fire, for the baritone Gerald Finley, and which he has now recorded with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu, for Ondine. James Jolly paid Gerald Finley a visit to talk about the score, its challenges and how he and Saariaho first encountered each other.

'Colin Currie and Steve Reich. Live at Fondation Louis Vuitton' is the third album to be released on Colin Currie's own label and captures five performances, taken live, at a Steve Reich presentation in Paris. The music ranges from Clapping Music of 1972 to Pulse of 2015. James Jolly met up with Colin to talk about his long association with Reich's music, the approach needed to perform music of mathematical precision yet at the same surprising emotional weight, and performing Clapping Music with Reich himself.

German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich talks to James Jolly about the challenge of Brahms's great Violin Concerto, which he has twinned with György Ligeti's Violin Concerto of some 110 years later for his new recording on Warner Classics.

Carolyn Sampson talks to Editor-in-Chief James Jolly about 'Reason in Madness', her new recording from BIS performed with pianist Joseph Middleton, which focuses on some of literature's heroines whose mental state has been unbalanced by sadness or tragedy, drawing on some glorious, and unsettling, music from composers including Brahms, Schumann, Richard Strauss, Chausson, Saint-Saëns and Poulenc.

Isabelle Faust, the multi-Gramophone Award-winning violinist, has recorded an album of Bach concertos, sinfonias and trio sonatas with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin on the Harmonia Mundi label. She talks about the new recording with Editor-in-Chief James Jolly.

Grace Williams (1906-77) was one of Wales's finest composers - she left a sizeable body of work, her best-known piece being the orchestral tone-poem Penillion, as well as a lot of chamber music, much of it as yet unpublished. Madeleine Mitchell and friends have just released a recording for Naxos of her chamber music, and Editor-in-Chief James Jolly caught up with the violinist to talk about it.

The Berlin Philharmonic clarinettist Andreas Ottensamer talks to Gramophone's Editor-in-Chief James Jolly about recording Weber's First Clarinet Concerto, and music by Brahms and Mendelssohn, for Deutsch Grammophon.

Lucie Horsch's new album, Baroque Journey, takes us on a thrilling and diverse journey through some of the recorder's most beautiful repertoire. Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford met her to discuss her new release on Decca.

As Dame Emma Kirkby, of the UK's most popular sopranos, reaches a milestone birthday, we catch up with her and look back over her career, with Editor-in-Chief James Jolly. With music courtesy of Hyperion records.

The conductor Harry Christophers, who founded his choir The Sixteen in 1979, tells James Jolly about his new release - Handel's pastoral Acis and Galatea, issued on the Coro label.

The pianist and former Gramophone Young Artist of the Year talks to James Jolly about his new album for Deutsche Grammophon, featuring Mendelssohn's two piano concertos alongside two major solo works.

Back in November we named Hilary Hahn's new album of the solo violin music of Bach, on the Decca label, our Recording of the Month. For the latest Gramophone Podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford talked to her about her about very personal relationship with the composer's music.

Pianist Roman Rabinovich discusses recording Haydn piano sonatas for First Hand Recordings. Presented by Gramophone's Editor-in-Chief James Jolly.

Christian Gerhaher and pianist Gerold Huber have embarked on a Schumann Lieder project; the first volume 'Frage' is just out and combines groups of songs – or song-cycles as Gerhaher argues – from 1840 and 1850 and includes the Kerner-Lieder. Gramophone's Editor-in-Chief James Jolly caught up with the baritone for our latest podcast.

The violinist Jennifer Pike tells James Jolly about her new album on Chandos called 'The Polish Violin', for which she's joined by the pianist Petr Limonov. It features music by Henryk Wieniawski, Karol Szymanowski, Moritz Moszkowski and Mieczysław Karłowicz.

We profile our 2018 label of the year - Harmonia Mundi. Editor Martin Cullingford spent time last summer in Arles, the label's home in the South of France, and spoke to various artists - both established and newly-signed - and the label head Christian Girardin about what Harmonia Mundi and indeed recording itself means to them.

A special celebratory conversation between cellist Steven Isserlis and Editor-in-Chief James Jolly which explores - among many topics - the nature of recording, the music of John Tavener, cellists of the past and gut strings.

Cambridge is a city famed for its world-leading choirs of boy choristers - but ten years ago, St Catharine's College founded the first college-based choir for girls. In the latest Gramophone podcast the Music Director Edward Wickham talks to Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford about that first decade, and about the choir's new recording 'Sing Levy Dew', a beautiful programme of music for upper voices by contemporary and 20th century composers, released on the Resonus Classics label.