Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

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 and how the jury reaches its verdict. We hear excerpts from the Alpha Classics recordings by the 2018 winners, the Esmé Quartet (in music by Beethoven and Bridge) and the 2015 winners, the Van Kuijk Quartet (in music by Schubert). Gramophone Podcasts are presented in association with Wigmore Hall.

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 changed, and the recordings they have made together. Gramophone Podcasts are presented in association with Wigmore Hall.

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.

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 three remarkable operatic women.

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.

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.

Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford talks to Mozart expert Richard Wigmore about the composer's extraordinary life and music.

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

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.

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 the Elbphilharmonie has succeeded in attracting people of all age groups. In this latest Gramophone Podcast, produced in association with Hamburg Marketing, James Jolly spoke to the Elbphilharmonie's General and Artistic Director, Christoph Lieben-Seutter, and the Chief Conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Alan Gilbert, about the effect of the hall not just on the city but also in Continental Europe. To find out more about what Germany's second city has to offer, visit hamburg-travel.com