Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Weekly conversations about classical music with leading musicians and writers

Thélème's Director Jean-Christophe Groffe on pairing John Dowland and John Cage 11/22/2024

Thélème's Director Jean-Christophe Groffe on pairing John Dowland and John Cage 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/34104641

Pianist Charles Owen on 'The Young Schumann' 11/15/2024

Pianist Charles Owen on 'The Young Schumann' 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33941427

Alec Frank-Gemmill on Mozart's horn concertos 11/08/2024

Alec Frank-Gemmill on Mozart's horn concertos 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33854242

Pianist Alexandre Kantorow on his new Brahms, Schubert and Liszt album 11/01/2024

Pianist Alexandre Kantorow on his new Brahms, Schubert and Liszt album 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33726322

Pianist Hanni Liang on her new album 'Voices' 10/25/2024

Pianist Hanni Liang on her new album 'Voices' 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33614687

Handel in Rome, with Nardus Williams and John Butt 10/18/2024

Handel in Rome, with Nardus Williams and John Butt 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33515007

Rafael Payare on the music of Schoenberg 10/11/2024

Rafael Payare on the music of Schoenberg 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33422507

The 2024 Gramophone Classical Music Awards 10/04/2024

The 2024 Gramophone Classical Music Awards 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33332957

Claire Booth on the character of Pierrot 09/27/2024

Claire Booth on the character of Pierrot 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 /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33230347

Mendelssohn Piano Trios, with Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk and Steven Isserlis 09/20/2024

Mendelssohn Piano Trios, with Joshua Bell, Jeremy Denk and Steven Isserlis 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33144667

Baritone Huw Montague Rendall on his debut album 'Contemplation' 09/13/2024

Baritone Huw Montague Rendall on his debut album 'Contemplation' 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'. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/33037647

Celebrating 50 years of BIS: Part 2 09/10/2024

Celebrating 50 years of BIS: Part 2 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32987522

Semyon Bychkov on the music of Dvořák 09/06/2024

Semyon Bychkov on the music of Dvořák 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32943637

Celebrating 50 years of BIS: Part 1 09/03/2024

Celebrating 50 years of BIS: Part 1 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32874082

Bryce Dessner on his new album 'Solos' 08/30/2024

Bryce Dessner on his new album 'Solos' 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32807652

Composer Anna Clyne on her new album 'Shorthand' 08/23/2024

Composer Anna Clyne on her new album 'Shorthand' 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32690597

Alexandra Dariescu on the piano concertos of Clara Schumann and Edvard Grieg 08/16/2024

Alexandra Dariescu on the piano concertos of Clara Schumann and Edvard Grieg 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32543587

Leonard Bernstein the Composer – with Edward Seckerson 08/09/2024

Leonard Bernstein the Composer – with Edward Seckerson 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. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32510452

Karajan's video legacy - with Richard Osborne 08/02/2024

Karajan's video legacy - with Richard Osborne The great Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908-89) was fascinated with technology from an early age, and, from the early 1960s onward, he filmed many of his performances. Deutsche Grammophon’s streaming service Stage+ has a huge archive of Karajan’s films including his Telemondial legacy – recorded with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics during the 1980s, the conductor's last decade. Karajan’s biographer, and long-serving Gramophone critic, Richard Osborne, discusses Karajan’s video legacy with James Jolly, and they pick some favourites from the Stage+ catalogue. This podcast is sponsored by STAGE+, the streaming service for classical music by Deutsche Grammophon, hosting concerts, operas, documentaries, albums and much more, including 50 live streams per year. With a special summer offer, you can get 2 months of STAGE+ for just 1€ with access to the entire content library and live broadcasts from some of this year’s finest summer festivals. Visit before August 16 to find out more. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32396382

Podcast revisited: Rob Cowan on listening to historic recordings 07/26/2024

Podcast revisited: Rob Cowan on listening to historic recordings As we step into the summer holiday period, this week we thought we’d revisit one of our special longer-length episodes from last year featuring one of our writers, our historical recording expert Rob Cowan on what we can gain from listening to recordings from the past. Why should we listen to historic recordings? What can we learn from them, and which artists, many decades on, still offer listeners such extraordinary joy and insight? Across more than 45 fascinating minutes Rob addresses these questions, and we play excerpts from some absolute highlights from the archives. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32302217

Soprano Sophie Bevan on overcoming adversity 07/18/2024

Soprano Sophie Bevan on overcoming adversity Hattie Butterworth meets soprano Sophie Bevan ahead of her appearance at the First Night of the Proms. Moving through Sophie's early life and career, they speak about her experience navigating a diagnosis of bowel cancer, the importance of her faith and family, and what she wishes audiences knew about the life of a singer. Music included in the epsiode: 'Take the Heart' from Jephtha Act I, Scene 3: George Friderich Handel · The Sixteen · Harry Christophers on CORO (2014) 'Perché, se tanti siete' from Scena di Berenic on Perfido! · Sophie Bevan · Franz Joseph Haydn · Ian Page · Classical Opera / The Mozartists on Signum Classics (2017) 'Ferma l'ali' from Pt. 1 Scene 2 from Handel's La Resurrezione · The English Concert · Harry Bicket · Sophie Bevan on Linn Records (2023) 'Beati Quorum Via' by Charles Villiers Stanford from Vidi Speciosam: Sacred Choral Music · Graham Ross · The Bevan Family Consort on Signum Records (2023) /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32207887

Dalia's Mixtape: Judith Weir's 'Still, Glowing' 07/12/2024

Dalia's Mixtape: Judith Weir's 'Still, Glowing' In April, Dalia Stasevska, Chief Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, launched a new project, ‘Dalia’s Mixtape’, for Platoon. Leading her BBC orchestra, she has recorded ten works by ten modern composers, each shedding a new and different light on the symphony orchestra and what it can do. And, breaking with tradition, the project will unfold piece by piece over the next half year. And each work will be accompanied by a podcast focusing on the music. In this latest episode, hosted by Gramophone’s Andrew Mellor, Dalia’s guest is the Master of the King's Music, Dame Judith Weir whose orchestral work Still, Glowing features on the 'Mixtape'. Composer and conductor discuss this haunting piece. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32109902

Harry Christophers at 70: The Sixteen's founder on a life in music 07/05/2024

Harry Christophers at 70: The Sixteen's founder on a life in music Conductor and founder of The Sixteen Harry Christophers speaks to Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford about his new album, ‘70: A Life in Music’, which features 39 carefully selected recordings from the conductor's career so far, spanning periods from the renaissance to contemporary music. Reflecting on his 45-year career, Christophers' talks about his introduction to music, the formation of The Sixteen and the future of young composers today. ‘70: A Life in Music’ is out now on CORO. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/32023052

Héloïse Werner on her new album 'Close-ups' 06/28/2024

Héloïse Werner on her new album 'Close-ups' Soprano and composer Héloïse Werner speaks to Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford about her new album, ‘Close-ups’, which features composers Barbara Strozzi, Julie Pinel and Hildegard of Bingen as well as compositions by Werner herself. Her second album sees her collaborating with fellow musicians Colin Alexander, Julian Azkoul, Max Baillie, Kit Downes, Ruth Gibson and Marianne Schofield. ‘Close-ups’ is out now on Delphian. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/31927727

Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy on their piano four-hands debut album 06/21/2024

Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy on their piano four-hands debut album For their debut Harmonia Mundi release as a duo, pianists Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy have recorded two works by Schubert, the great Fantasy in F minor and the Divertissement à la Hongroise, and, in between, a work they commissioned, Trompe-l’oeil by the Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov (b1955), who has said of his piece, ‘You can envisage it as the follow-up, or the rough draft of Schubert’s Fantasy. Something incomplete. Like a study for a composition that’s been abandoned en route.’ James Jolly went to visit Pavel and Samson, partners both off stage and on, at their home in North London recently to talk about the art of piano four-hands … /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/31728787

Magdalena Kožená on her new album 'Czech Songs' 06/14/2024

Magdalena Kožená on her new album 'Czech Songs' Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená speaks to Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford about her new album, ‘Czech Songs’, which features composers Bohuslav Martinů, Antonín Dvořák, Hans Krása and Gideon Klein, and for which she's joined by the Czech Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle. ‘Czech Songs’ is out now on Pentatone. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/31747662

Nicholas Phan on 'A Change is Gonna Come' 06/07/2024

Nicholas Phan on 'A Change is Gonna Come' The American tenor Nicholas Phan has just released an album of protest songs, many from the 1960s by legendary singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger and Malvina Reynolds. It also contains a new work by Errollyn Wallen. ‘A Change in Gonna Come’, featuring Palaver Strings, and a couple of guest appearances by Farayi Malek, is just out from Azica. James Jolly talked recently to Nicholas Phan about the album, and also about another song project that he’s currently in the studio working on … /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/31644452

Cellist Laura van der Heijden on her debut concerto release 05/31/2024

Cellist Laura van der Heijden on her debut concerto release Since winning BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2012, aged 15, Laura van der Heijden has enjoyed a career as a cellist to watch. She’s a Chandos artist, recording both as a soloist and also as part of Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. This month she makes her concerto debut with an album of three British cello concertos, Frank Bridge’s Oration, Sir William Walton’s Cello Concerto (the work she played for the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition) and Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s new cello concerto, Earth-Sea-Air. She is joined by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth. James Jolly recently went to speak to Laura about the new release. You can also hear Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s cello concerto, Earth-Sea-Air, at the BBC Proms on Friday, July 26 joined by the same performers as on the new recording. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/31547327

Can Çakmur on Schubert and Krenek 05/24/2024

Can Çakmur on Schubert and Krenek This week's Gramophone Podcast sees pianist Can Çakmur join Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about the latest album in his series for the BIS label in which he pairs works by Schubert with music by composers inspired by him - in this instance Ernst Krenek. As well as introducing Krenek's Second Sonata, he also talks about the composer's completion of Schubert's Piano Sonata in C Major, D 840. /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/31444412

Andrè Schuen on Schubert's Winterreise 05/17/2024

Andrè Schuen on Schubert's Winterreise With Winterreise, Andrè Schuen and Daniel Heide complete their recordings for DG of Schubert’s three song cycles, and have understandably saved the most challenging to last. James Jolly spoke to Andrè to discover how he approaches this colossal work, the Everest of any singer’s repertoire. This Gramophone Podcast is produced in association with /episode/index/show/gramophone/id/31349352

Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

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