Gramophone Classical Music Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Composer John Rutter: a birthday conversation Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

One of the most-performed composers of our time, Sir John Rutter, celebrates his 80th birthday on September 24. To mark the occasion Harmonia Mundi has released an album of his choral music sung by the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, directed by Graham Ross – 'John Rutter: A Clare College Celebration'. And next week Decca releases an all-orchestral collection, 'Reflections', that includes a performance of Rutter's piano concerto, which gives the album its title. Rutter himself conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Steven Osborne the piano soloist.

James Jolly went to visit Sir John at his home to talk about the new releases but also reflect on his long association with Clare College, and much else.

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Rowan Pierce on recording Bach, Handel and Vivaldi | Gramophone Podcast Sep 02, 2025

Show notes

Soprano Rowan Pierce joins Jonathan Whiting to reflect on the intimacy of making chamber-scale Baroque music without a conductor, the challenges of Bach's expansive recitatives, and the almost operatic drama of Handel's 'Tra le fiamme'. She also speaks about her long collaboration with Ashley Solomon, the ensemble's director, and about finding new colours and meaning in these works – music that, though written three centuries ago, resonates with striking relevance today.

We were also incredibly honoured to recently learn that the Gramophone Magazine Podcast will now be included in The British Library Sound Archive, catalogued and preserved for future generations as part of the nation's audio and cultural heritage.

To hear other Gramophone podcasts, or to subscribe for free to new editions, search for 'Gramophone' in your Podcast App of choice, or visit Gramophone's page on Apple or Spotify.

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Composer Jake Heggie on 25 years of writing operas Aug 29, 2025

Show notes

Composer jake Heggie joins Hattie Butterworth to speak about the recording release of 'Intelligence', an opera premiered at Houston Grand Opera in 2023 and out now on the LSO Live label. They also look back on 25 years since Heggie's first opera 'Dead Man Walking' was premiered and ahead to a new production of the work at English National Opera in November

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Cellist Alisa Weilerstein on recording new concertos by Gabriela Ortiz and Richard Blackford Aug 22, 2025

Show notes

During the 2024-25 season, Alisa Weilerstein premiered three new cello concertos – Richard Blackford's The Recovery of Paradise (which she has recorded for Pentatone with the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Tomáš Netopil), Gabriela Ortiz's Dzonot (recorded for Platoon with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel) and Thomas Larcher's Returning into Darkness (premiered with the New York Philharmonic).

James Jolly caught up with Alisa to talk about the two new recordings and also hear about her Fragments project that she's bringing to London as part of a South Bank Centre residency later this year.

The Gramophone Podcast will now be included in The British Library Sound Archive, catalogued and preserved for future generations as part of the nation's audio and cultural heritage.

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The Dover Quartet on recording Woodland Songs | Gramophone Podcast Aug 15, 2025

Show notes

Joel and Camden from the Dover Quartet meet Hattie Butterworth in Philadelphia to discuss their latest album, Woodland Songs, which places the music of Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate and Pura Fé alongside the Dvorak 'American' String Quartet in F Major. Though vastly different works in style, expression, and historical context, they share the common influence of music native to North America.

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Mandolinist Avi Avital on his new album 'Song of the Birds' | Gramophone Classical Music Podcast Aug 08, 2025

Show notes

The mandolin player Avi Avital, with his ensemble Between Worlds, has just released a new DG album 'Song of the Birds' which crosses boundaries to explore the musics of three geographical regions – Iberia, southern Italy (Puglia) and the Black Sea – with vivid results. For this week's Gramophone Podcast, James Jolly caught up Avi Avital while he was on tour in Northern Germany to talk about the new album.

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Live from 2025 Three Choirs Festival Aug 01, 2025

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Join Hattie at the 2025 Three Choirs Festival in Hereford as she speaks to performers, composers, clergy and audience members to discover what makes the festival such a place of pilgrimage 300 years since its foundation

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Cellist Guy Johnston on the Bliss Cello Concerto | Gramophone Classical Music Podcast Jul 25, 2025

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Guy Johnston joins Hattie Butterworth to discuss his latest recording of the Arthur Bliss Cello Concerto with Andrew Manze and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

A technical mine field, the concerto was written for the great cellist Rostropovich and premiered with Benjamin Britten conducting at the 1970 Aldeburgh Festival. Guy also speaks about his dedication to pedagogy and gives details of more upcoming English cello recordings he has in the pipeline.

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2025 BBC Proms: Our Top Picks | Gramophone Classical Music Podcast Jul 18, 2025

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As the 2025 BBC Proms season gets underway, Martin Cullingford is joined by Tim Parry and Hattie Butterworth select their top picks. From Rachmaninov with Yunchan Lim and the UK premiere of Anna Thorvaldsdottir's Cello Concerto to a late-night tribute to Arvo Pärt and a rare performance of Delius's A Mass of Life, the team reflects on the Proms's cultural significance, its breadth of programming, and the enduring tradition of live music at the Royal Albert Hall.

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Julian Bream: an archive interview from 2013 with the great guitarist Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

We're today continuing the theme set by last week's edition, in which we marked the 500th episode of the Gramophone Classical Music podcast by looking back over some of our most memorable interviews and episodes. The interview Editor Martin Cullingford chose to reflect on was a conversation he had with the guitarist Julian Bream all the way back in 2013, to mark his 80th birthday and also the fact that Gramophone had honoured him with our Lifetime Achievement Award. So here, for this week's podcast, we offer a retrospective edition - and a chance to hear at full length that earlier episode.

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