Gramophone Magazine February 2020

When writing about musicians, it’s usual to see a familiar career path – the opportunities offered, the progressive filling of a familiar-looking CV. In the case of conductors, for example, it usually involves a journey through established orchestras or ensembles, each post gaining in responsibility and prestige; for pianists a competition win perhaps, followed by city-hopping recitals; for a singer, a progress through the route of roles that suit a certain voice type. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But neither is it the only way – or, for some artists, the right one. Take this month’s cover artist, the conductor John Wilson, whose journey continues to defy predictability. I first encountered him in relation to his vibrant performances of MGM scores, followed by equally fine recordings of Elgar, Copland and…

JAMES JOLLY enjoyed meeting Kate Lindsey this month. ‘Interviewing her in Vienna about Baroque cantatas the morning after the premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Orlando vividly brought home to me her versatility and range, as well as her musical curiosity,’ he recalls. ‘She’s clearly a mezzo to watch!’ ‘For my money, the conductor John Wilson is the Beecham and Barbirolli of the 21st century, rolled into one’, writes the author of this month’s cover story, RICHARD BRATBY. ‘He’s a joy to talk to – candid, enthusiastic, and always ready to spring some delightful surprise.’ ‘It’s always stimulating to talk with Benjamin Grosvenor,’ writes TIM PARRY, who has followed his career closely since his early teenage years. ‘He can be reserved, but his good humour is soon apparent, as is his self-effacing modesty and…

BARBER. TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concertos Johan Dalene vn Norrköping SO / Daniel Belndulf BIS Johan Dalene, winner of 2019’s Carl Nielsen competition and a recent ‘One to Watch’, with a superb concerto coupling. REVIEW ON PAGE 32 BRAHMS Double Concerto SCHUMANN Violin Concerto Antje Weithaas vn Maximilian Hornung vc NDR Radiophilharmonie / Andrew Manze CPO Performances of two works which our critic now names his top recommendations. REVIEW ON PAGE 36 A NORMAN Sustain Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Gustavo Dudamel DG Andrew Norman marks the LA Philharmonic’s centenary by thinking ahead to its 200th, and the questions that raises about our stewardship of our planet. REVIEW ON PAGE 41 ‘THE LYRICAL CLARINET, VOL 2’ Michael Collins cl Michael McHale pf Chandos You know a new album by the clarinet virtuoso Michael Collins is going to impress and charm; his programme…

Farewell to Peter Schreier German lyric tenor Peter Schreier has died aged 84. During a long career, he graduated from singing treble in the Dresdner Kreuzchor to becoming one of the world’s leading tenors, embracing song, oratorio and opera and performing alongside some of the greatest artists of the day. Raised by a musical family in Meissen, Saxony, Schreier was spotted by Rudolf Mauersberger, the Dresdner Kreuzchor’s conductor; when Schreier’s voice broke, he joined the city’s Musikhochschule. He made his debut in 1957 as the First Prisoner in Beethoven’s Fidelio. In 1962 he took on larger roles such as Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte). He joined the Berlin State Opera and also sang with the Vienna State Opera. In 1966 he made his debut at Bayreuth, singing the…

Tom Borrow piano Being Gramophone, it’s when an exciting young artist is about to appear on a recording that we really start spreading the news. One such is Tom Borrow, a 19-year-old pianist who has just been signed to Hänssler and is soon to make his first recording for the label. Born in 2000 in Tel Aviv (where he now studies), Borrow has for the past four years been regularly mentored by Murray Perahia. Like many virtuosos, his career path has been a series of planned steps and random opportunities. The latter includes being called on to replace Khatia Buniatishvili with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in January last year, performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G at 36 hours’ notice. Other appearances already confirmed in coming seasons include concerts with the London Philharmonic…

Podcasts The Gramophone podcast series continues with revealing interviews with soprano Louise Alder and pianist Stephen Hough. Alder (pictured) has released her first recording for Chandos, ‘Lines Written During a Sleepless Night: The Russian Connection’, which sees her joined by pianist Joseph Middleton for a fascinating, personal choice of songs by Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Rachmaninov. Hough, meanwhile, has been enjoying enormous success with his new solo Brahms album for Hyperion, not least in these pages where it was named January’s Recording of the Month. All podcasts are free and available on most podcasting platforms. Blogs Beethoven’s legendary Academy events presented new music for an audience hungry for novelty. In an engrossing blog, conductor François-Xavier Roth explains how the spirit of these concerts has inspired his concert at London’s Southbank Centre on February 21…