Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.  

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.  

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. 

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.

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. 

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