Podcasts about gramaphone

News; birthdays/events; is it better to ask a friend or AI if you need a objective opinion?;   word of the day. News; game: Batman trivia; new Summer party dessert trend; did you ever cheat in high school or college?   News; game: celebrity audio book; what skill have you learned from Tik Tok?; funny stories of things your kids destroyed...that turned out to be an expensive fix! News; game: player piano music songs; voice note or voice mail?; "goodbye/fun facts...Old-Time Player Piano Day...this fun musical instrument is simply an unusual type of piano that plays by itself. Player pianos are also known as pianolas. Old-time player pianos read notes from tiny perforations on rolls of paper. The rolls are changed to allow the piano to play different songs. A prototype for the instrument was created in 1895 by Edwin Votey. His version set the template for most player pianos that followed. Player pianos were big business in the early 1900s and were widely popular for about 30 years....but began to lose popularity in 1929 after the Wall Street crash...by then the Gramaphone had taken over as the latest and greatest in musical technology. Sadly, there aren't many player pianos that play music rolls available on the market today. There are, however, electronic players available that are capable of reproducing ‘high-resolution' piano performances.

The German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's 100th birthday falls on May 28. One of the most versatile singers of the last century – his operatic repertoire alone ranged from Gluck, Handel and Mozart via Verdi, Wagner and Richard Strauss to Berg, Busoni and Reimann – it's his devotion to song that remains his lasting legacy. To mark the anniversary of Fischer-Dieskau's birth, Gramophone's James Jolly spoke to song specialist and author of Schubert: The Complete Song Texts (Schirmer: 1988), Richard Wigmore. They focused on Fischer-Dieskau's audio recordings of Schubert's greatest song-cycle Winterreise (1828) which include three with Gerald Moore, as well as versions with Klaus Billing, Hermann Reuter, Daniel Barenboim, Jörg Demus, Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia and Maurizio Pollini.

In 2007, Yevgeny Sudbin released an album of music by Alexander Scriabin. Reviewing it in Gramophone, Bryce Morrison described it as a 'disc in a million'. Now, Sudbin has returned to the composer for his 25th recording for BIS, and offers a wide-ranging survey of music that includes two more of the piano sonatas. James Jolly caught up with Yevgeny Sudbin recently to talk about his relationship with the composer and his unique musical world.

Zlatomir Fung won the Cello category of the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, and also has an enviable collection of other cello awards and prizes to his name. He was a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Winner in 2022 and was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2020. His debut recording, ‘Fantasies', is just out from Signum and on it he explores, with his pianist Richard Fu, a very specific genre, the virtuoso fantasy based on popular operas of the day. And Zlatomir has contributed his own fantasy based on Janáček's Jenůfa. James Jolly went to talk to him at Henry Wood Hall in London earlier this year just before a rehearsal with the London Philharmonic with whom he was performing a couple of concerts. 

Alan Gilbert is Chief Conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, as well as Music Director of the Royal Swedish Opera. Gramophone's James Jolly caught up with him during a run of Wagner's Die Walküre in Stockholm, where he lives. They talked about his Hamburg-based orchestra, the role today of a radio orchestra and also about the work orcherstra and conductor have just released (on the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester label to stream and download), Brahms's Third Symphony.

Maurice Ravel was born 150 years ago, on March 7, 1875, and he is the subject of numerous tributes this season. Bertrand Chamayou recorded the complete piano works ten years ago for Erato ('No one who loves French music or exquisite piano-playing will want to miss this' wrote Patrick Rucker in Gramophone), a set that incidentally has just been released on LP. So, by way of a supplement, he has curated a programme that weaves a handful of Ravel transcriptions together with tributes and memorials by other composers. James Jolly went to visit Bertrand at his home in Paris this week to talk about the new album, but also to discuss Ravel's place in the pianist's repertoire.  This Gramophone Podcast is given in association with Wigmore Hall

The baritone Benjamin Appl has recorded an album for Alpha that combines the music of György Kurtág with that of Franz Schubert. 'Lines of Life: Schubert & Kurtág' is the result of a long process that started with Kurtág choosing the singer for this unique project and working with him on the music, and finally producing the recording - and even playing the piano for Appl in two songs that close the programme. James Jolly met up with Benjamin Appl – a former Gramophone Young Artist of the Year – to talk about the album, but also about another recording that's on the horizon, his tribute to his teacher, and one of the great Lieder singers of the post-war period, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the 100th anniversary of whose birth falls in May. This Gramophone Podcast is given in association with Wigmore Hall

William Christie, the founder - and guiding spirit for the past 45 years – of Les Arts Florissants, celebrates his 80th birthday on December 19.  Gramophone's James Jolly went to visit him at home in Paris to talk about his long career and its colossal impact of the rediscovery of the music of his adopted homeland. Since leaving the USA in the early 1970s and settling in France, Christie has been a major figure both in concert and on record (with a clutch of Gramophone Awards to his name), focusing on music of the 17th and 18th centuries. Their conversation ranged widely taking in memories of the harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick, the countertenor Alfred Deller, the founder of Harmonia Mundi Bernard Coutaz, and many others. Musical excerpts are from from his Harmonia Mundi catalogue, including his latest release 'Bill and Friends' which finds him performing with a host of young musicians.  

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.

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.  

In April, Dalia Stasevska, Chief Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, launched a new project, ‘Dalia's Mixtape', for Platoon. Leading her BBC orchestra, she has recorded ten works by ten modern composers, each shedding a new and different light on the symphony orchestra and what it can do. And, breaking with tradition, the project will unfold piece by piece over the next half year. And each work will be accompanied by a podcast focusing on the music. In this latest episode, hosted by Gramophone's Andrew Mellor, Dalia's guest is the Master of the King's Music, Dame Judith Weir whose orchestral work Still, Glowing features on the 'Mixtape'. Composer and conductor discuss this haunting piece.

For their debut Harmonia Mundi release as a duo, pianists Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy have recorded two works by Schubert, the great Fantasy in F minor and the Divertissement à la Hongroise, and, in between, a work they commissioned, Trompe-l'oeil by the Russian composer Leonid Desyatnikov (b1955), who has said of his piece, ‘You can envisage it as the follow-up, or the rough draft of Schubert's Fantasy. Something incomplete. Like a study for a composition that's been abandoned en route.' James Jolly went to visit Pavel and Samson, partners both off stage and on, at their home in North London recently to talk about the art of piano four-hands …

The American tenor Nicholas Phan has just released an album of protest songs, many from the 1960s by legendary singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger and Malvina Reynolds. It also contains a new work by Errollyn Wallen. ‘A Change in Gonna Come', featuring Palaver Strings, and a couple of guest appearances by Farayi Malek, is just out from Azica. James Jolly talked recently to Nicholas Phan about the album, and also about another song project that he's currently in the studio working on …

Since winning BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2012, aged 15, Laura van der Heijden has enjoyed a career as a cellist to watch. She's a Chandos artist, recording both as a soloist and also as part of Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. This month she makes her concerto debut with an album of three British cello concertos, Frank Bridge's Oration, Sir William Walton's Cello Concerto (the work she played for the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition) and Cheryl Frances-Hoad's new cello concerto, Earth-Sea-Air. She is joined by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth. James Jolly recently went to speak to Laura about the new release. You can also hear Cheryl Frances-Hoad's cello concerto, Earth-Sea-Air, at the BBC Proms on Friday, July 26 joined by the same performers as on the new recording.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna, which took place on May 7, 1824, Gramophone's podcast this week focuses on the work. Antonello Manacorda has just completed a cycle of the nine symphonies with Akademie Potsdam for Sony Classical, including a brand-new Ninth. James Jolly went to visit him at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden , where he was conducting a run of Bizet's Carmen. This Gramophone Podcast is produced in association with Wigmore Hall.

The British bass Brindley Sherratt has released his first solo album, ‘Fear No More', a Delphian recording, with Julius Drake at the piano. One of the UK's most distinguished singers, and with an international reputation on the great concert and operatic stages, Sherratt talks to James Jolly about this new, and belated, chapter in his musical career. This Gramophone Podcast is produced in association with Wigmore Hall.

Thomas Pitfield, born in Bolton in 1903 and whose life stretched to the very end of the 20th century – he died in 1999 – is one of those polymaths who embraced numerous different outlets: he was a composer, a poet, an illustrator, a calligrapher, a cabinet maker and a teacher. He is probably better known for the people he knew and taught – including John McCabe, John Ogdon and Ronald Stevenson – than in his own right. This new collection of songs is a good start to get to know a fine musical voice. James Jolly spoke, separately, to James Gilchrist and Nathan Williamson about this appealing composer.  This Gramophone Podcast is produced in association with Wigmore Hall.  

Paavo Järvi's latest recording project adds the five Mendelssohn symphonies to his substantial catalogue. Alpha Classics has released the new set which features the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. James Jolly caught up with Paavo Järvi recently by Zoom to talk about the cycle, but also to talk about the conductor's passion for recording the complete symphonic outputs of many of the great composers.  This Gramophone Podcast is produced in association with Wigmore Hall.

Bside Incoming: Alinka For our 186th show we take a trip over the Atlantic ocean to Chicago and warmly invite Alinka to showcase some of her favoruite club equipt house and tech records. "There are at least a few people in this thing determined to keep House Music weird. Chicago's Alinka is one of them." – Terry Matthew, 5 Magazine. Alinka is the kind of DJ other DJs will tell you about. She has a unique power on the decks that comes from lifelong passion and time served, with a focused devotion to her first love – house music. Raised on Chicago's vibrant house sound with toes dipped into Detroit techno, Europe's more robust approaches to bass music and the myriad of genres coming from cities like Berlin, London, and Paris. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Moving to Chicago in the late 80's, she fell head over heels for the chart sounds of Madonna and Janet Jackson. Then came house music from local radio shows where you could frequently hear tracks by Chicago legends like Cajmere and DJ Funk, and shows like Sonic Boom helped expose underground music to the masses. By the late ‘90s, music had taken over her life. Teenage Alinka immersed herself in the dance music scene, spending her summers pulling double shifts at a local pool and moonlighting for rave promoters to build up enough cash to buy decks. After a year of skipping class to relentlessly practice her mixing skills, she began her full-time musical pursuit. Working for various club promoters, doing odd jobs passing out flyers and helping with party logistics - anything just to get into clubs underage to see her favorite DJs - all while spending hours digging for tracks at Chicago's legendary record shop Gramaphone. In 2001, Justin Long recruited her to be the opening resident for his Dotbleep party at Smartbar where she honed her skills for the best part of a decade. In 2012, an impromptu meeting with former Hercules and Love Affair vocalist, Shaun J. Wright, changed her life forever. Their evolving friendship resulted in what would be the first of many musical collaborations. The pair launched their Twirl parties and label, continually striving to inspire each other both musically and spiritually; the result has been an impressive catalog of material for both of them collaboratively and individually on the likes of The Classic Music Company, Jackathon Jams, Crosstown Rebels, Leftroom, and of course Twirl, where as well as their own material the duo have welcomed renowned artists like Spencer Parker, Virginia, LA-4A, Kim Ann Foxman, and Jason Kendig onto the label. Recent years have seen Alinka really hit her stride as a producer with successful releases on world-renowned labels like Rekids, Crosstown Rebels, Need Want, Permanent Vacation, Harry Romero's Bambossa Records, He.She.They, and Peggy Gou's Gudu Records, which is forthcoming in 2024. She also turned out a standout collection of remixes for labels Me Me Me, Live At Robert Johnson, Lone Romantic, Keinemusik, Get Physical, and Pets Recordings. Now living in Berlin, Alinka has well and truly found her feet and inspiration. Alinka has used this base to throw down at parties across Europe from Berghain/Panorama Bar to Circoloco, with regular visits back to the US and Kyiv to play at stand out bars. Her evolution continues with the recent relaunch of her Twirl imprint, highlighted by the ‘Day Dreamer', ‘Sorry For Not Trending' and ‘Edgewater' EPs that finely balance Alinka's future-focused ethos, with an unmistakable, proud passion for her Chicago heritage. Check out just released Edgewater EP here! - https://alinka.lnk.to/TWIRL032 Enjoy the ride. Alinka's instagram-https://www.instagram.com/alinkatwirl/ Her soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/aalinkaa Linktree - https://linktr.ee/alinkatwirl Thanks to Molly Hickey for the beautiful artwork as always. www.instagram.com/mollyth.art/ Follow the Bside Instagram for updates/news/vinyl and general music chat: www.instagram.com/bsidepodcasts/

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.

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.

The Deutsche Grammophon recording of Carl Nielsen's Fourth and Fifth Symphonies – with Fabio Luisi conducting the Danish National Symphony Orchestra – was voted Gramophone's 2023 Recording of the Year, and in the December issue of the magazine our critics choose their personal favourite albums of the year. But, as is customary, this podcast focuses on some recommendations by Gramophone's editors, Editor, Martin Cullingford, Deputy Editor, Tim Parry, and Editor-in-Chief, James Jolly. This Gramophone Podcast is brought to you in association with STAGE+, the new streaming service from Deutsche Grammophon, which offers weekly live-stream videos of concerts from around the world, as well an archive of over 400 concerts to enjoy on demand, plus documentaries, audio albums, interviews and much more. Visit stage-plus.com or download the STAGE+ IOS App.

Jennifer Higdon wrote her Concerto for Orchestra for the Philadelphia Orchestra and its then-Music Director Wolfgang Sawallisch who gave the work its premiere in 2002. Since then it's been recorded by the Atlanta Symphony and, on a new Naxos album just out, by the Houston Symphony - both conducted by Robert Spano. The new recording finds the Concerto for Orchestra joined by a much newer work, Higdon's double percussion concerto, Duo Duel (2020), played by the artists who commissioned it, Svet Stoyanov and Matthew Strauss. James Jolly caught up with Jennifer Higdon to talk about the two works' beginnings, and about how the composer manages her amazingly busy schedule. This week's podcast is produced in association with the Lake George Music Festival where you can enjoy classical music among some of America's most spectacular scenery. Visit lakegeorgemusicfestival.com to find out more.

This is the final episode in a five-part series about artificial intelligence in medicine. We start by weighing up the costs and benefits of automation in a health system that's increasingly pushed beyond capacity. One of the biggest time sinks for health practitioners is filling out and searching through medical records. Some of this could be performed by natural language processors which are becoming more accurate thanks to deep learning.   The power of large language models has been demonstrated by the meteoritic uptake of ChatGPT and doctors are among those who have used it to summarise literature or draft letters. But professional organisations have raised concerns around the accuracy and privacy of the model and there have also been spooky demonstrations of its capacity for common sense and theory of mind. Guests>Professor Brent Richards MBBS FRACP JJFICM (Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service; Director, IntelliHQ)>Affiliate Associate Professor Paul Cooper PhD FAIDH CHIA AFHEA GAICD (Deakin University) >Associate Professor Sandeep Reddy MBBS PhD IPFPH ECFMG CHIA FAcadTM FAIDH FCHSM SFHEA (Deakin University; Founder, MedAI)ProductionProduced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Kryptonite' by Blue Steel and ‘Thyone' by Ben Elson. Music courtesy of Free Music Archive includes ‘Headway' by Kai Engel, ‘Gramaphone' by Jahzarr and ‘Numbers' by Krowne. Image by VM licenced from Getty Images. Computerised voice from Online Tone GeneratorEditorial feedback kindly provided by physicians David Arroyo, Stephen Bacchi, Aidan Tan, Ronaldo Piovezan and Rahul Barmanray and RACP staff Natasa Lazarevic PhD. Please visit the Pomegranate Health web page for a transcript and supporting references. Login to MyCPD to record listening and reading as a prefilled learning activity. Subscribe to new episode email alerts or search for ‘Pomegranate Health' in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Castbox or any podcasting app. 

In a series of four Decca Icons podcasts, Gramophone's James Jolly explores the artistry of four major recording musicians with Rob Cowan, Jed Distler and Richard Fairman. Focusing on recordings in the Decca catalogue, the series turns the spotlight on Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Georg Solti and Benjamin Britten. Each podcast is accompanied by a special Apple Music playlist.  In this second podcast, James talks to the New York-based critic, composer, broadcaster and piano enthusiast Jed Distler about the Russian-born pianist and conductor, Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Following five acclaimed albums with the LSO and JoAnn Falletta for Naxos, the composer Kenneth Fuchs has released a new collection of his orchestral works with John Wilson's Sinfonia of London. Recorded at St Augustine's, Kilburn, in North London, by Chandos, the collection has just been issued. James Jolly caught up with Kenneth Fuchs just before last Christmas - and the day after recording sessions - to talk about the four works on the new album.

Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year is the only award voted for by our readers and music lovers worldwide. Each year, the magazine's editors produce a short list of 10 ensembles whose music-making, particularly on record, has made a particularly strong impression on our critics. In the second of two podcasts, Gramophone's Editor-in-Chief, James Jolly, talks to the broadcaster and critic Rob Cowan about these five superb ensembles. To vote for your chosen orchestra, head to the Awards page of our website before September 7.

Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year is the only award voted for by our readers and music lovers worldwide. Each year, the magazine's editors produce a short list of 10 ensembles whose music-making, particularly on record, has made a particularly strong impression our critics. In the first of two podcasts, Gramophone's Editor-in-Chief, James Jolly, talks to the Copenhagen-based critic and cultural commentator, Andrew Mellor, about five of the nominated ensembles. To vote for your chosen orchestra, head to the Awards page of our website, but before you do (and voting remains open until September 7), maybe wait until next week's podcast when James will be in conversation with Rob Cowan about the remaining five orchestras. And to help you make up your mind, you can listen to the specially created playlists on Apple Music Classical.

The Gramophone Award-winning pianist Kirill Gerstein has recorded Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko: it forms part of a twinned release, 'Rachmaninoff 150', from Platoon. James Jolly met up with Gerstein a couple of months ago in London to talk about playing the music of a composer who left us two recordings of the concerto as well as being one of the greatest pianists ever to have lived. The second part of the programme includes solo works, with the Corelli Variations forming the centrepiece.

Chandos was named Gramophone's Label of the Year at the 2022 Gramophone Classical Music Awards in October – a perfect excuse for a series of podcasts focusing on some of the label's key artists and the people who steer and shape the label.  This month, James Jolly talks to the conductor Edward Gardner, Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic and Chief Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic; in August 2024 he will assume the Music Directorship of the Norwegian Opera and Ballet. His recorded catalogue for Chandos is extensive and is crowned by the 2020 release of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes, recorded in Bergen, which was voted Gramophone's Opera Award winner but also our Recording of the Year.

James Newby's new album, 'Fallen to Dust', for BIS explores English song, and particularly English on the theme of death. Joined by the pianist Joseph Middleton, he offers cycles by Sir Arthur Somerville and Gerald Finzi, as well as songs spanning a century, including contemporary settings by Jonathan Dove and Errollyn Wallen. A former BBC New Generation Artist, a recipient of a 2022 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, a Rising Star for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and an ECHO Rising Star, Newby's career has taken off impressively. James Jolly met up with him earlier this week to talk about the new album. Gramophone Podcasts are given in association with Wigmore Hall. 

Klaus Mäkelä's second recording for Decca finds him at the helm of his French orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris. They recorded Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and the complete Firebird ballet. James Jolly spoke to the conductor by Zoom when Klaus was in Cleveland conducting performances of Mahler's Fifth Symphony. Gramophone Podcasts are given in association with Wigmore Hall

The soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen has just released an album of Richard Strauss, two late works – the Four Last Songs and the Closing scene from the opera Capriccio. On this new Sony Classical release she's joined by the Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons. James Jolly caught up with her by Zoom to talk repertoire and the allure of Strauss's vocal writing. Gramophone Podcasts are given in association with Wigmore Hall.

The Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare was appointed Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Montreal SO) at the start of the 2022-23 season and one of their first projects together, Mahler's Fifth Symphony, has just been released by Pentatone. Rafael Payare was in London recently conducting a run of much-praised performances of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at Covent Garden, and Gramophone's James Jolly took the opportunity to catch up with him to talk about his work in Montreal and the new Mahler recording. Gramophone Podcasts are given in association with Wigmore Hall.

The pianist Frank Dupree's new album for Capriccio is his third devoted to the music of Kapustin: his previous concerto album, which included the Fourth Piano Concerto, made it to the short list in the Concerto category for last year's Gramophone Classical Music Awards, and this new release, as well as containing the Fifth Piano Concerto, also includes the Concerto for two pianos and percussion, and the Sinfonietta for two pianos, both works find Frank joined by Adrian Brendle, and Dominik Beykirch conducts the Berlin RSO in the Fifth Piano Concerto. James Jolly caught up with Frank to talk about how he discovered Kapustin's music and how it perfectly plays to his strengths as both a classical and jazz pianist.

Chandos was named Gramophone's Label of the Year at the 2022 Gramophone Classical Music Awards in October – a perfect excuse for a series of podcasts focusing on some of the label's key artists and the people who steer and shape the label. In this third podcast, James Jolly met up with Chandos's Managing Director, Ralph Couzens, and the producer Brian Pidgeon who has made hundreds of recordings for Chandos. The conversation took place in St Augustine's, Kilburn, North London, during a run of recording sessions with the Sinfonia of London and John Wilson.

The pianist Mark Bebbington continues his invaluable service to British music with a new album for Resonus that gathers together four rarities from Vaughan Williams's output, ranging from the Piano Quintet of 1903 to the Fantasia on the 'Old 104th' Psalm Tune of 1949. Joined by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for three of the works, and by the entire orchestra plus the City of London Choir and conductor Hilary Davan Wetton for the Fantasia, this album fills in some major gaps in the VW recorded catalogue. James Jolly caught up with the pianist to talk through the album's four works. 

Chandos was named Gramophone's Label of the Year at the 2022 Gramophone Classical Music Awards in October – a perfect excuse for a series of podcasts focusing on some of the label's key artists. The violinist Tasmin Little was central to the Chandos roster from 2009 until her retirement two years ago. James Jolly caught up with her to reflect on the role that recording played in her long career – from her first concerto album made when she was in her early twenties to her final concerto and chamber recordings, both of British music. She also talks about her life after stepping away from performance.

Michael Spyres has won three Gramophone Awards: Opera and Recording of the Year in 2018 for Berlioz's Les troyens, and Voice and Ensemble in 2022 for 'Baritenor', an album that reveals his remarkable vocal range. Now, again for Erato and in the company of his Trojans conductor, John Nelson, he has recorded Les nuits d'été – but in the original keys and in Berlioz's envisaged registers. James Jolly spoke to Michael Spyres about his approach to the Berlioz songs, and also about whether he considers himself a tenor or a baritone these days.

Ruby Hughes's new album for BIS, 'Echo', finds her in the company of Huw Watkins, as both pianist and composer. His song cycle, Echo, written for Ruby, and commissioned by Carnegie Hall, sits at the programme's centre and is flanked by a sequence of short pieces by Bach (both sung and for solo piano), a handful of folksongs and three works by three more living composers, Deborah Pritchard, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Errolyn Wallen. James Jolly went to visit Ruby to discuss the album and some of the emotional waves it responds to, or even sends out.

Chandos was named Gramophone's Label of the Year at the 2022 Gramophone Classical Music Awards last month – a perfect excuse for a series of podcasts focusing on some of the label's key artists. And the pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet would certainly count as one, with complete cycles of the Beethoven piano sonatas and concertos, the piano works of Debussy, the Prokofiev and Bartók piano concertos, a cycle of the Haydn piano sonatas as well as the Mozart piano concertos to his name. Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford caught up with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet recently to talk about his relationship with Chandos and the role recording has played in his career.

Xavier de Maistre – with Cologne's WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann – has recorded harp concertos by Reinhold Glière and Alexander Mosolov for Sony Classical, supplemented by a couple of transcriptions of Russian ballet music. James Jolly spoke to the French harpist about the album, the two women harpists who inspired the works and the detective work involved in resurrecting the Mosolov concerto. Gramophone Podcasts are made in association with Wigmore Hall, sponsors of the 2022 Chamber Award.

A recording of the Australian composer Amanda Lee Falkenberg's The Moons Symphony has just been released in Dolby Atmos sound by Signum. Featuring London Voices and the London Symphony Orchestra, the work is conducted by Marin Alsop. For this podcast, Gramophone's James Jolly spoke with Amanda in Dubai and Marin in Vienna about the project, its ambitious programme and the challenges of recording such a large-scale work in the middle of the pandemic. Gramophone Podcasts are made in association with Wigmore Hall, sponsors of the 2022 Chamber Award. 

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 Competition and was a Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for 2017-19. Her first album for Delphian, mainly of duets with her soon-to-be-husband Michael Craddock, was 'The Isolation Songbook', warmly welcomed by Gramophone's Alexandra Coghlan who wrote that 'the results are varied, from comic miniatures to distilled dramas and contemplative outpourings, but together add up to a recital that's hard to resist, at once fresh and profoundly familiar'.

In 2008 I started a series of radio shows with fellow Freak and host, Jonny Rock. The original format was based around vinyl. Digital started to creep in, then CD's, then YouTube rips, and so on. But the idea remained the same, that we were sharing our discoveries with an audience. Fast forwarding a couple of years and expanding on the original concept, I will once again be playing dance music that you may or may not have heard, but this time said music will be readily available, if pointed in the right direction of course. The idea is for you to use me as your selector slash shop assistant in a virtual record store. Not only will I be shouting about both old and new music, but I will also be following it up with a series of compilations to be released on my label, Classic throughout the year. I will be your slightly odd, slightly off-centre, guide. But ultimately and most importantly, your friendly on-line record shop assistant. Tracklisting: 01. Luke Solomon feat Nick Maurer "Dance Electric" [Classic] 02. Hercules & Love Affair "Do You Feel The Same" (Todd Terry Dub) [Defected] 03. Red Rack''em "Do or Die" [Wolf Music] 04. Harry Romero "Get Down" [MUM] 05. Phil Kieren "Tape 1" [Phil Kieren Recordings] 06. Luca Lozano "Get Down" [Unknown Into The Unknown] 07. Omar Sante "Stark Champagne" [Karakul] 08. Andy Ash "Move" (Ron Basejam Remix) 09. Garret Davis "unknown title" [Gramaphone] 10. Chicago Damn "Get Down" 11. The Garris Ground "We Need Subonones" 12. James Curd feat. Jdub "Buffalo Girl" (Derrick Carter Dub) [Greenskeepers Music] 13. The Martinez Bros "Tree Town" [CH002] 14. Main Squeeze "Shine the Light" (Kub Dub) (Rev Bloo Edit) [Vinyl Mania]

Tracklisting:01. Patchwork 'Keep on Pushing' (EDR Records)02. Soulphiction 'A Short History of ....' (Philpot)03. Italo Johnson '009'04. Awoke and Asp 'We Get Together' (Gramaphone)05. Hauke Freer 'XK' (XK Records)06. ESTY 00107. Flashmob 'Don't Leave' (Instrumental) (Flashmob Records)08. MF Hercles 'Rainance' (Classic)09. Debukas 'Sunning' (Red Eye Records)10. Sean McCabe 'Reach Out' (Atjazz Instrumental) (Z Records)11. Unknown 'A Kid In Chicago' (Robsoul)12. Arthur Russell 'Lets Go Swimming' (Lil Tony Rework)

Tracklisting:01. Luke Solomon feat Nick Maurer "Dance Electric" [Classic]02. Hercules & Love Affair "Do You Feel The Same" (Todd Terry Dub) [Defected]03. Red Rack''em "Do or Die" [Wolf Music]04. Harry Romero "Get Down" [MUM]05. Phil Kieren "Tape 1" [Phil Kieren Recordings]06. Luca Lozano "Get Down" [Unknown Into The Unknown]07. Omar Sante "Stark Champagne" [Karakul]08. Andy Ash "Move" (Ron Basejam Remix)09. Garret Davis "unknown title" [Gramaphone]10. Chicago Damn "Get Down"11. The Garris Ground "We Need Subonones"12. James Curd feat. Jdub "Buffalo Girl" (Derrick Carter Dub) [Greenskeepers Music]13. The Martinez Bros "Tree Town" [CH002]14. Main Squeeze "Shine the Light" (Kub Dub) (Rev Bloo Edit) [Vinyl Mania]