Gramophone Magazine

Marking a century is a momentous occasion for any magazine. But in Gramophone’s case it’s not just our own longevity we’re celebrating, as our history really mirrors that of the very thing we cover: classical music on record. A short period of recording infancy did precede our foundation in 1923. But the need for a reviews magazine emerged in our founder Compton Mackenzie’s mind when it did, because it was an industry coming of age. The growth of recordings – not to mention the considerable expense of acquiring them – made a magazine devoted to honest opinion timely, indeed necessary. And that’s been our guiding principle ever since. Formats have come and gone. How very far removed does Mackenzie ordering up crates of crackly 78s to be shipped to his Channel…

Andrew Achenbach • Tim Ashley • Michelle Assay • Richard Bratby • Edward Breen • Scott Cantrell • Alexandra Coghlan • Rob Cowan (consultant reviewer) • Jed Distler • David Fanning • Andrew Farach-Colton • Fabrice Fitch • Marina Frolova–Walker • Charlotte Gardner • David Gutman • Christian Hoskins • Rob Hubbard • Lindsay Kemp • Philip Kennicott • Richard Lawrence • Geraint Lewis • Julian Lloyd Webber • Andrew Mellor • Ivan Moody • Jeremy Nicholas • Mark Pullinger • Peter Quantrill • Peter J Rabinowitz • Guy Rickards • Malcolm Riley • Edward Seckerson • Hugo Shirley • Pwyll ap Sion • David Patrick Stearns • David Threasher • David Vickers • Richard Whitehouse • Richard Wigmore • William Yeoman Talking about one of my favourite piano pieces with…

RECORDING OF THE MONTH MOZART String Quintets Nos 3 & 4 Ébène Quartet with Antoine Tamestit va Erato RICHARD WIGMORE’S REVIEW IS ON PAGE 100 This is extraordinary playing from Quatuor Ébène, joined by viola player Antoine Tamestit, and offered in showcase sound. Vividness, transparency and virtuosity are all here in abundance. KAPUSTIN Piano Concerto No 5, etc Frank Dupree pf Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra / Dominik Beykirch Capriccio Frank Dupree’s mission to promote the jazz-infused music of Nikolai Kapustin continues with this glorious album. ▸ REVIEW ON PAGE 107 JS BACH ‘Clavichord’ András Schiff clav ECM New Series The case is made both academically, but even more significantly musically, for the use of clavichord in this repertoire. The modern replica instrument sounds splendid, and András Schiff’s playing is revelatory. ▸ REVIEW ON PAGE 124 TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet, etc Yevgeny & Bella Sudbin pf BIS Yevgeny Sudbin’s performances – and his arrangements too – are full…

Dudamel to move to New York Gustavo Dudamel has been named the 27th Music and Artistic Director of the New York Philharmonic, a role once occupied by Gustav Mahler and Leonard Bernstein. The 42-year-old Venezuelan conductor will take up the new post at the start of the 2026-27 season, becoming Music Director Designate the season before. He first conducted the NYPO in 2007, aged 26, and has conducted them as a guest on 26 occasions. He will step down as the Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (where he has been since 2009) at the end of the 2025-26 season when his current contract expires. The appointment was not unexpected, though the timing was. Many thought that the NYPO would wait until Deborah Borda, its President and CEO – and who…

Stella Chen Violin Stella Chen, this month’s One to Watch, is a young violinist with a mature musical voice who has already earned praise for both her intellectual rigour and her spontaneity – a promising combination. Chen came to international attention in 2019, when she took First Prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium. This capped an impressive run of competition appearances going back to 2008, when she was the youngest ever contestant to win an award in the Senior Category of the Menuhin International Violin Competition. A diverse education has contributed to Chen’s broad musical outlook. She took a Dual Degree at Harvard and the New England Conservatory, leading to a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in music. She later received a doctorate in music from Juilliard, where she…

Podcasts This month on the Gramophone Podcast we feature a revealing interview with Lucile Richardot, who talks to Hattie Butterworth about ‘Les heures claires’, an album of the complete songs of Nadia and Lili Boulanger on Harmonia Mundi and also about recording Scarlatti cantatas with harpsichordist Philippe Grisvard, for Audax. Also this month, James Jolly speaks to conductor Rafael Payare about his work as Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and their new recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony for Pentatone. We also have a special extended episode dedicated to exploring the piano music of Franz Liszt, with Editor Martin Cullingford joined by Gramophone writer Jeremy Nicholas to discuss the composers’s greatest works, and the greatest recordings of his music. Facebook, Instagram & Twitter Follow us to hear about the latest classical…