Gramophone Magazine January 2019

When we were developing the idea for this month’s cover story – a discussion about some of the leading young stars of the piano world – two key things came to mind. The first, and our starting point, was simply to delight in the fact that we seem particularly fortunate to find among today’s young pianists some extraordinarily gifted and visionary individuals. What those we’ve highlighted – Igor Levit, Beatrice Rana, Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang and Benjamin Grosvenor among them – share is that when you read their name, you immediately have a vivid sense of their approach to performance, repertoire and collaboration. Each has a strong music-making identity, one which has been chronicled through our pages in reviews, including Editor’s Choice and even Awards coverage. Second, there was a…

‘The pleasure of revisiting a great piece of Beethoven has been in glimpsing how varied musicians’ points of view can be,’ says PATRICK RUCKER, after writing this issue’s Collection. ‘Concentrated listening to these versions has enriched my appreciation of why the Waldstein Sonata remains so fascinating.’ ‘I’d heard Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on recordings,’ says RICHARD BRATBY, who interviews the conductor about their latest release for Gramophone this issue, ‘but seeing them in action together “at home” in Poole really brought their relationship into focus.’ ‘Trying to comment upon the current piano scene was quite the challenge, since I’m not a pundit by nature,’ says JED DISTLER, author of our cover story. ‘And if I had to mention each and every gifted emerging young keyboard luminary crossing my path,…

Andrew Achenbach • Nalen Anthoni • Tim Ashley • Mike Ashman • Michelle Assay Richard Bratby • Edward Breen • Liam Cagney • Alexandra Coghlan • Rob Cowan (consultant reviewer) Jeremy Dibble • Peter Dickinson • Jed Distler • Adrian Edwards • Richard Fairman • David Fallows David Fanning • Andrew Farach-Colton • Iain Fenlon • Neil Fisher • Fabrice Fitch • Jonathan Freeman-Attwood Charlotte Gardner • David Gutman • Christian Hoskins • Lindsay Kemp • Philip Kennicott • Richard Lawrence Andrew Mellor • Ivan Moody • Bryce Morrison • Hannah Nepil • Jeremy Nicholas • Christopher Nickol Geoffrey Norris • Richard Osborne • Stephen Plaistow • Mark Pullinger • Peter Quantrill • Guy Rickards Malcolm Riley • Marc Rochester • Patrick Rucker • Edward Seckerson • Hugo Shirley •…

JS BACH Violin Concertos Shunske Sato, Zefira Valova vns Il Pomo d’Oro Erato These Bach concertos are approached with a tempo that is graceful rather than fiery, but the speed and space really allows an elegant and powerful personality to shine through. ‘THE SCENE OF THE CRIME’ Håkan Hardenberger tpt Colin Currie perc Colin Currie Records An inspired coupling – trumpet and percussion, that is, and specifically Håkan Hardenberger and Colin Currie – in which poetry and lyricism are wonderfully to the fore. FINNISSY Vocal Works Exaudi Vocal Ensemble / James Weeks Winter & Winter Exaudi prove once again what a skilled ensemble they are, bringing vividly to life contemporary music of complexity, enabling listeners to understand and appreciate the composer’s vision. LYATOSHYNSKY Symphony No 3 Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Kirill Karabits Chandos As he discusses in an interview on page…

Esa-Pekka Salonen has been named as the new Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony, succeeding Michael Tilson Thomas in 2020. He also announced that he will be stepping down as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra at the end of the 2020-21 season. Salonen has served 13 years at the Philharmonia Orchestra’s helm, only the sixth conductor to occupy the role in the ensemble’s 75-year history. ‘I have been unbelievably fortunate to conduct the great orchestras of the globe: a simultaneously inspiring and humbling part of my night job. Though since my debut 35 years ago surprising no one more than me – and in my 10 years as Principal Conductor, I find myself returning again and again to the Philharmonia,’ Salonen said. His time at the London-based…

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider has been named the new Music Director of the Orchestra national de Lyon, starting in September 2020. He succeeds Leonard Slatkin who served as Music Director from 2011 to 2017 and who now takes the title of Honorary Conductor. Szeps-Znaider (he recently has started using his full name) first came to note as a violinist, but later took up conducting and has held Principal Guest posts with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra. He also has strong ties with the London Symphony Orchestra with whom he has recorded the complete Mozart violin concertos for LSO Live. ‘The Orchestre national de Lyon is based in a vibrant city that offers full and meaningful support to its cultural institutions of which the ONL is a particularly precious gem,’ commented Szeps-Znaider.…