Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

For this week's Gramophone Podcast, Jonathan Cohen, conductor of Arcangelo, joins Editor Martin Cullingford to talk about his new recording on the Alpha label of Handel's powerful late oratorio, Theodora, a work Cohen describes as Handel at 'his very finest and most inspired'.

The tenor Alessandro Fisher is a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Artist and a former member of the BBC New Generation Artists Scheme, and on February 23 Rubicon releases a solo album, 'A Gardener's World', a collection of songs about flowers and their symbolic significance. Joined by the pianist Anna Tilbrook, Alessandro explores the horticultural theme in the company of composers from many countries, including France, Germany, Scandinavia, Catalunya and Argentina. James Jolly went to visit Alessandro in his north London home and, overlooking the garden, they discussed the genesis of the new album, which was recorded live at Wigmore Hall in July 2021.

Pianist Lara Downes joins Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford this week to talk about her fascinating new recording of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, as reimagined for today's world by composer Edmar Colón to mark the iconic work's centenary, and available from the Pentatone label.

Youth is an EP of solo piano music by Edmund Finnis and performed by Clare Hammond, and described as 'a set of brief pieces recalling an image, sensation of place, significant encounter or a moment of vivid perception'. Editor Martin Cullingford invited both Finnis and Hammond into the Gramophone Podcast studio to talk about this beautiful new recording.

Timothy Ridout won last year's Concerto category at the Gramophone Awards for his Harmonia Mundi recording, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins, of Elgar's Cello Concerto transcribed by Lionel Tertis for viola, alongside the Bloch Suite for Viola and Orchestra. His new HM release continues his exploration of the huge role that Tertis played in the history of the viola, as player, teacher, arranger and champion of the instrument. Ridout's new double album, for which he's joined by pianists Frank Dupree and James Baillieu, includes sonatas by York Bowen and Rebecca Clarke, as well as many shorter works with powerful links to Tertis. James Jolly met up with Timothy to talk about the album, and the place that Tertis holds for viola-players.

The great Polish pianist and conductor Krystian Zimerman came to London last October to collect his Gramophone Award, his seventh, for his latest DG album of music by Karol Szymanowki. James Jolly caught up with him on the morning of the ceremony, and their conversation ranged widely.

For his tenth album of music for trumpet and piano in the 're-imagined' series for Linn, Jonathan Freeman-Attwood has turned to a composer right at the centre of the period he's most associated with, the Baroque – and George Frideric Handel. 'Handel for Trumpet' features transcriptions of arias as well as theoretical 'sonatas', created from concertos and other works. As well as being a contributor to Gramophone, Jonathan is also Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, a record producer, teacher – and trumpeter. Gramophone's James Jolly spoke to him about the new album, how he maintains his technique amid a busy schedule and how being a recorded musician helps his role as the leader of one of the world's great music conservatories.

The Tallis Scholars' acclaimed series of recordings of the Masses of Josquin Desprez is one of the great milestones to the catalogue. Featuring what may be the last Mass the composer wrote, the Missa Mater Patris, along with a Mass not by Josquin but once thought to have been by him, the penultimate volume certainly raises some fascinating questions! To discuss them, The Tallis Scholars' founder and director Peter Phillips joined Editor Martin Cullingford for this Gramophone podcast - which features excerpts from the album, available on Gimell, which was named an Editor's Choice in the November 2019 issue of the magazine. We revisit that podcast 'From the Archive'.

Dame Janet Baker's contribution to classical music - in performance and on record - has been remarkable, enriching both the stage and the catalogue with performances of astonishing beauty, power and vivid insight. To mark her 80th birthday in August 2013, James Jolly met with her at Wigmore Hall to talk about her career for a Gramophone Milestones Podcast, made in association with EFG International. She shared her memories of working with Sir John Barbirolli, Leonard Bernstein, Gerald Moore, Raymond Leppard and Benjamin Britten. Now 10 years on, we revisit the podcast to celebrate one of the UK's greatest musical artists, the recipient in 2011 of Gramophone's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Esa-Pekka Salonen took over the helm of the San Francisco Symphony in 2020 from Michael Tilson Thomas. Both men have had a major impact on symphonic music in California, and Salonen is one of the three guiding figures – with the LA Phil's Gustavo Dudamel and the San Diego Symphony's Rafael Payare – behind the California Festival, a statewide celebration of music that launched in November. James Jolly spoke to Salonen at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco following an afternoon concert, as part of the California Festival, in November.