Eloquence has just issued two box sets, 'Paul Paray: The Mercury Masters', 45 CDs in all, which gather together the recordings made for Mercury between 1953 and 1962. The French conductor (1886-1979) created a magnificent ensemble during his ten years as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Music Director, and their partnership became one of the cornerstones of the Mercury Living Presence catalogue. Rob Cowan, Gramophone 's expert on archive recordings, spoke to James Jolly for this podcast about th...
Jul 29, 2022•29 min
Gramophone 's Orchestra of the Year Award is the only prize voted on by readers. To help you choose this year's winner, James Jolly spoke to two of Gramophone 's regular contributors about five orchestras each, and in this second of two podcasts, Andrew Mellor gives his perspective on ensembles from Hungary, France, Norway, the UK and one that draws its players for over 40 different nationalities. The Orchestra of the Year Award is presented in association with Apple Music....
Jul 22, 2022•20 min
Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year Award is the only prize voted on by music lovers, and to help you decide on 2022's ensemble, James Jolly spoke to two of our regular contributors about five orchestras each. In the first of two episodes, Rob Cowan gives his perspective on ensembles from Austria, the Czech Republic, England, the USA and Germany. The Orchestra of the Year Award is presented in association with Apple Music, and you can listen to complete recordings of the works discussed in the sp...
Jul 15, 2022•24 min
Nico Muhly's Stranger , premiered in 2020, gives its name to a new album from Avie featuring the tenor Nicholas Phan. The album also includes two earlier works, Muhly's Lorne ys my likinge , written as a companion piece to Benjamin Britten's Abraham and Isaac and similarly scored for countertenor, tenor and piano (for which Phan is joined by countertenor Reginald Mobley and pianist Lisa Kaplan), and Impossible Things , setting poems by CP Cavafy, and featuring a solo violin and ensemble: on the ...
Jul 08, 2022•33 min
Andrew Mellor is a former Gramophone Reviews Editor who now lives in Denmark where he pursues a career as a freelance journalist with a special focus on things Nordic, and he's still very much part of the Gramophone family as a regular contributor to the magazine. James Jolly caught up with him recently to talk about his new book, The Northern Silence, his passion for Nordic culture and the differences between the various countries he writes about. The Northern Silence is published by Yale Unive...
Jul 01, 2022•24 min
Alexander Ullman's new album featuring Liszt's Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 2 and the Sonata in B Minor, is released today on Rubicon Classics. The Award-winning pianist joined Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford to explore this extraordinary music, its beauty and its challenges.
Jun 24, 2022•23 min
The Canadian violinist James Ehnes has his own string quartet for which he's joined by fellow violinist Amy Schwarz Moretti, viola-player Richard Yongjae O'Neill and cellist Edward Arron, and they've released the final instalment in their series of recordings for Onyx of the Op 74 and 95 quartets and all the late quartets. Their final volume includes the A minor, Op 132 and the F major, Op 135. James Jolly caught up with James Ehnes by video call in Bergen, where he was recording the Nielsen Vio...
Jun 17, 2022•32 min
This week's guest is Bridget Cunningham, Artist Director of London Early Opera, who joins Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about her new recording - Caio Fabbricio , a pasticcio opera by Handel, newly available on Signum. But what exactly is a pasticcio opera, and what role does the music of Hasse play in the work? Join us as we step into 18th century London musical life to find out the answers...
Jun 10, 2022•20 min
Anne-Sophie Mutter premiered John Williams's Second Violin Concerto, written for her, in Boston in July 2021 and DG recorded the work shortly after. One of the most listened-to composers on the planet, thanks to his peerless film scores, Williams has long been drawn the concerto as a form, and has written for many great musicians, including Gil Shaham and Yo-Yo Ma. James Jolly caught up with John Williams by phone earlier this year to talk about the new violin concerto, Williams's concert music ...
Jun 03, 2022•32 min
Helen Charlston has recorded her first entirely solo album for Delphian, for which she was joined by the theorbo player Toby Carr. 'Battle Cry: She Speaks' combines music of the 17th century with a new work written for her by Owain Park, 'Battle Cry', which gives the album its title. James Jolly caught up with her to talk about the album and find out about what's coming up from this much sought-after young singer. A BBC New Generation artist, Helen won First Prize in the 2018 Handel Singing Comp...
May 27, 2022•24 min
The French tenor, Cyrille Dubois, with his regular piano partner Tristan Raës, releases the complete songs by Gabriel Fauré on May 27. This Aparté release is the first time the entire song output of the composer has been recorded by a single singer. James Jolly caught up with Cyrille Dubois to discuss the project, and also hear about what the tenor is up to next. Gramophone Podcasts are presented in association with Wigmore Hall .
May 20, 2022•29 min
Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers's new album, 'Shining Night', takes listeners on a musical journey through the passing of a day - via Villa-Lobos, Leo Brouwer, Bach and even Elvis - much of it in the company of guitarist Jason Vieaux. She talks to Gramophone 's Editor Martin Cullingford about how she developed this wonderful programme. A Gramophone Podcast presented in association with Wigmore Hall.
May 13, 2022•22 min
Jakub Józef Orliński was Gramophone 's Young Artist of the Year in 2019 and in the three years since has established himself as one of the world's leading countertenors. An exclusive Erato artist, he's made a trio of recordings of Baroque music, but his new album, 'Farewells', for which he's partnered by Michał Biel, features a selection of Polish art songs that ranges over two centuries. James Jolly caught up with Jakub Józef Orliński by Zoom to talk about 'Farewells' and how he chose the songs...
May 06, 2022•27 min
The Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley has just released an album, 'Crossing the Bar', created during lockdown and prompted by her acquiring a new piano. Gramophone 's James Jolly went to speak to her at Angel Studios in Islington about the album, but also about her work in music across so many different genres. Gramophone Podcasts are presented in association with Wigmore Hall .
Apr 29, 2022•35 min
This week's guest is Emmanuelle Haïm, the conductor of Le Concert d'Astrée, and the creative spirit behind its superb catalogue of brilliant and Award-winning albums. It's 20 years since she founded the ensemble to perform baroque music, and in a celebratory podcast Haïm tells Editor Martin Cullingford about those two decades of discovery. Musical excerpts are taken from the new album 'Une nouvelle fête Baroque - 20 ans du Concert d'Astrée', available from today on Erato. This Gramphone Podcast ...
Apr 22, 2022•38 min
While we take a short break, we've revisited one of the most popular episodes we've published. It's a conversation devoted to exploring the music, life and legacy of a composer whose work is very associated with Easter – the greatest genius of Baroque music, JS Bach. In March 2021, Editor Martin Cullingford invited Bach specialist and Gramophone reviewer, the Royal Academy of Music's Principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, to talk about the composer of some of the most profound masterpieces ever wri...
Apr 14, 2022•45 min
In this week's Gramophone Podcast Editor Martin Cullingford meets with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet to discuss volume six of his series of Mozart piano concertos, recorded with the Manchester Camerata and conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy. This album features Piano Concerto No 22, K482 and No 23, K488, and is available on the Chandos label. Gramophone Podcasts are produced in association with Wigmore Hall.
Apr 08, 2022•26 min
The 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition launches on Tuesday, April 5 with its preliminary rounds in London. Between then and April 10, some of the world's most impressive young ensembles will be performing in front of an impressive jury until one is awarded first prize, and the guarantee of a glowing future. James Jolly went to Wigmore Hall to talk to the Hall's Director John Gilhooly and Hélène Clément, the viola-player of the Doric Quartet, to learn about the competition...
Apr 01, 2022•30 min
Last year – and for the fourth consecutive year – we asked our readers, followers and visitors to our website to vote, from a short list of 10, for our Orchestra of the Year for 2021. Thousands of votes were cast, but romping in by a long margin, was the Minnesota Orchestra. As we look back on that Award, Gramophone 's Editor in Chief, James Jolly, caught up with the Minnesota Orchestra's Music Director Osmo Vänskä to talk about his 19-year tenure with the ensemble, how the relationship has chan...
Mar 25, 2022•35 min
A recording of Drone Mass by the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson is released today by Deutsche Grammophon, performed by Theatre of Voices and ACME, and conducted by Paul Hillier. In this week's Gramophone podcast, Hillier joins Editor Martin Cullingford to recall the creative process of working with Jóhannsson, and to explore this fascinating work and the experience of recording it. Gramophone Podcasts are produced in association with Wigmore Hall.
Mar 18, 2022•30 min
The American soprano Nadine Sierra's second album for DG, 'Made for Opera', focuses on three timeless operatic heroines, Verdi's Violetta in La traviata , Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Gounod's Juliette from Roméo et Juliette . She's partnered by the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Gramophone Podcasts are given in association with Wigmore Hall . James Jolly caught up with Nadine Sierra by Zoom to talk about the album and her relationship with these thr...
Mar 11, 2022•25 min
For his second album for Warner Classics, the pianist Martin James Bartlett brings together works by Gershwin and Rachmaninov, both solo and with orchestra. James Jolly met up with Martin to talk about the album, the connections it makes and his admiration for the work and playing of the American pianist Earl Wild. Gramophone Podcasts are given in association with Wigmore Hall.
Mar 04, 2022•23 min
Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande was recorded for Harmonia Mundi, following performances directed by Daniel Jeanneteau at the Opéra de Lille last March. François-Xavier Roth conducted his period-instrument ensemble, Les Siècles, with Julien Behr and Vannina Santoni singing the title-roles. James Jolly caught up with the conductor by Zoom to talk about the opera. Gramophone podcasts are given in association with Wigmore Hall.
Feb 25, 2022•27 min
Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford talks to Mozart expert Richard Wigmore about the composer's extraordinary life and music.
Feb 21, 2022•1 hr
For this week's Gramophone podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by violinist Daniel Hope to explore his new album 'America', available now on the Deutsche Grammophon label
Feb 11, 2022•25 min
Leonidas Kavakos's recording of the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin is newly released on Sony Classical. In today's Gramophone Podcast he talks to Editor Martin Cullingford about these extraordinary works.
Feb 04, 2022•31 min
Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, designed by Harzog and du Meuron, and occupying a prime position in the old docks area of the city, opened its doors five years ago. Since then it has welcomed about 3.3 million concertgoers to the hall and 4.5 million visitors to the Plaza viewing platform. The result is that the concert audience in Hamburg has actually tripled over the past five years. More than 3400 educational events with 200,000 participants and almost 10,000 guided tours to date demonstrate how t...
Jan 21, 2022•30 min
While we take a pause for Christmas, we're bringing you four podcasts which we found particularly memorable conversations, and this week it's once again the turn of Martin Cullingford to choose. In October 2019, he met up with the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber to talk about a classic of the instrument's repertoire, Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto, which was first heard exactly 100 years earlier. The excerpts are taken from from Julian Lloyd Webber's own recording of the work conducted by Yehudi Menu...
Dec 23, 2021•28 min
While we take a pause for Christmas and the New Year, we're bringing you four podcasts which we've particularly enjoyed making. This week's is by James Jolly, and comes from August 2018 when he went to Rome to report on a celebration of the music of a composer currently very much in the news with the release of the Steven Spielberg's film of West Side Story , Leonard Bernstein, and whose centenary was being marked that year.
Dec 22, 2021•25 min
While we take a pause for Christmas, we're bringing you four podcasts which Gramophone 's Martin Cullingford and James Jolly have chosen as particularly enjoyable conversations. This podcast dates from February 2019, the month the much-loved singer Dame Emma Kirkby turned 70 – and also the year in which Gramophone celebrated her enormous contribution to musical life with a Gramophone Lifetime Achievement Award. James Jolly went to talk to the soprano for a special birthday podcast....
Dec 21, 2021•22 min
