Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Gramophone's James Jolly visited Bruges to talk to some of the movers and shakers of the city's music scene and experience a handful of concerts in some striking settings. As well as meeting Tomas Bisschop, Director of the MA Festival and the Early Music Programme Coordinator at Bruges's Concertgebouw, Albert Edelman, James talked to the keyboard-player and conductor Jos van Immerseel and the city's Carillonneur, Frank Deleu.

The German tenor, Jonas Kaufmann, has just released a new French aria collection, 'L'Opéra' on Sony Classical. He was in London earlier this year to sing his first Otello, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Gramophone's James Jolly went to talk to him about the recording.

Chandos, in association with RTS and Palazetto Bru Zane, has launched a new series exploring the keyboard music of Antoine Reicha, born the same year as Beethoven and a close friend of the German composer. It's played by Ivan Ilić. He was in London recently and Gramophone's Editor in Chief, James Jolly, went to talk to him about the project.

British composer Brian Elias has just had his Cello Concerto premiered at the Proms, is enjoying positive reviews of his retrospective album 'Electra Mourns' on NMC, and is looking forward to a revival of The Judas Tree – Kenneth MacMillan's last ballet, for which Elias composed a specially commissioned score – at the Royal Opera House this October. Gramophone's Deputy Editor Sarah Kirkup meets with him to reflect on a lifetime of composing, and to find out what it was like to collaborate with one of the finest choreographers Britain has ever produced.

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is one of the most admired sopranos - indeed classical artists - of our age. Gramophone celebrates her enormous contribution to music over an extraordinary career by giving her our 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Presto Classical. To mark the occasion, Editor-in-Chief James Jolly met with her to reflect on repertoire, recording and performance.

As Benjamin Appl draws to the end of his year as Gramophone's Young Artist of the Year - and of touring his Sony Classical debut disc Heimat - he talks to Editor-in-Chief James Jolly about programming and plans

For their latest album on Delphian, called 'Set upon the rood', the Choir of Gonville and Caius, Cambridge invited contemporary composers to write works for ancient instruments. The college's music director Geoffrey Webber tells Editor Martin Cullingford about the project.

Sean Shibe, a real rising star of the guitar world, has just released his first disc, called 'Dreams and Fancies' on the Delphian label - and we've named it an Editor's Choice recording in the September 2017 issue of Gramophone. In this Gramophone podcast he talks to Editor Martin Cullingford about English music for guitar, about Julian Bream, and about the unique appeal of the instrument and its repertoire.

On his new album Late Night Lute, Matthew Wadsworth pairs pieces from the instrument's history - including by John Dowland and Alessandro Piccinini among other composers - with a premiere recording of a new suite for theorbo by Stephen Goss. In the latest Gramophone podcast, he talks to Editor Martin Cullingford about the programme, and about the unique sound-world of the theorbo.

The tenor Bryan Register is singing the role of Siegmund in the current Grange Park Opera production of Wagner's Die Walküre (a 'sensation' according to the Financial Times). He talked to Gramophone's James Jolly about the role and some of his favourite recorded interpreters of the part.