Issue September 2019 - Gramophone Magazine (2024)

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Gramophone enriches your classical music experience and connects you with great recordings. Packed with features across all classical music genres, our globally acclaimed writers will inform and entertain you with independent and intelligent editorial and more than 150 reviews in every issue. Our reputation is founded on our acclaimed critical analyses of the latest CD releases, in-depth features and interviews with classical stars, and our comprehensive coverage of recorded and live music. Please Note: This price excludes VAT which will be added when you checkout.

in this issue

In This IssueWhen music for the silver screen strikes goldWhere film music sits in relation to classical music is not always clear-cut. Is it just ultra-programmatic orchestral music? Does its association with what’s happening on screen constrain or enrich it? Does it – can it – stand alone in its own right? The answer, of course, is that it depends on the score; like all music, some of it will be brilliant, some not so much.What is clear is that those who dismiss movie music as something separate, lesser even, are not only ignoring its often extraordinary creative power, but also denying themselves some really rewarding musical experiences. And now we have Anne-Sophie Mutter, one of our age’s greatest violin virtuosos, telling us so.Our columnist, Edward Seckerson, recalls this month how, as a child discovering music, he met with…2 min

In This IssueTHIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORSNEIL FISHER found meeting Anne-Sophie Mutter to be a revealing experience. ‘“Are you a soloist or a musician who sees the entire cosmos?” I’d assumed she stood more in the first camp. But it was she who posed the question and, as her new album proves, she has her eyes on the whole musical universe.’‘Kirill Petrenko is an elusive and interview-shy maestro,’ admits HUGO SHIRLEY, who writes our profile piece this issue, ‘but speaking to musicians who have worked with him helped me to build an intriguing picture of what sort of a conductor he is and what his new reign at the Berlin Philharmonic might bring.’‘It was fascinating to talk to Benjamin Wallfisch about his film-composing process,’ says JAMES MCCARTHY, author of this month’s feature on film music. ‘Thanks…2 min

ReviewsGRAMOPHONE Editor's choiceMAHLERSymphony No 4 Sofia Fomina sop London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vladimir Jurowski LPO Vladimir Jurowski brings real attention to detail, Mahler’s ideas brought out with compelling clarity. Excellent playing throughout from the LPO.PROKOFIEV. TCHAIKOVSKYPiano Concertos Haochen Zhang pf Lahti Symphony Orchestra / Dima Slobodeniouk BIS Haochen Zhang – a Van Cliburn winner – performs these works with imaginative command of their required virtuosity.CROESLa sonate égarée BarrocoTout Linn A debut disc – the result of success at the York Early Music Competition – from a young Baroque ensemble possessed of all the flair, creative rapport and passion required to make the music of this era such a thrilling listen.HOLLIGER. KURTÁGZwiegespräche Heinz Holliger ob et al ECM New Series A celebration of a fascinating figure for his 80th birthday: composer, conductor and…2 min

FeaturesFOR THE RECORDThe London Philharmonic Orchestra has announced that Edward Gardner will be its next Principal Conductor.Gardner is the first British conductor to hold the post since Sir John Pritchard stepped down in 1966; he will take up the role at the start of the 2021-22 season, initially on a five-year contract. He will succeed Vladimir Jurowski, who has held the post since 2007, and who will become Conductor Emeritus.No stranger to London audiences, Gardner led English National Opera from 2007 to 2015, whereupon he became Principal Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic. He’ll be even less of a stranger to listeners to recordings: largely stemming from his relationship with the Chandos label, Gardner can be heard in many superb albums of repertoire including Walton, Grieg, Britten, Schoenberg and Szymanowski, while his recording…1 min

FeaturesWarner Classics launches streaming websiteWarner Classics has launched a website to showcase its new releases and vast back catalogue.Visitors to warnerclassics.com are offered 30-second excerpts of tracks; by then logging into their Apple, Spotify or Deezer accounts they can stream whole tracks from within the site, and there are ‘buy’ links to relevant digital retailers for CDs or downloads, generated by your geographical location. The music is accompanied by artists’ biographies, playlists, articles and concert dates.The search facility instantly gathers together an artist’s entire catalogue on the label group, which, as well as new releases on Warner Classics and Erato, includes the many decades of legendary recordings on the one-time EMI label.‘We’re entering a new era for Warner Classics as our repertoire really starts to reap the benefits of digital distribution,’ said Markus Petersen,…1 min

FeaturesCleobury receives choral music awardSir Stephen Cleobury CBE has received the inaugural ‘Lifetime Achievement in Choral Music’ Award from the Worshipful Company of Musicians, the 500-year-old London-based organisation committed to preserving music excellence. The award was presented at a July ceremony in London in recognition of Cleobury’s significant choral contribution, both in his 37 years as Organist and Director of Music at King’s, and in his prior roles as Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral and sub-organist of Westminster Abbey.Cleobury conducted his final concert at King’s on June 28, and his last Evensong on July 7. You can listen to our interview with him, in which he discusses his new Howells recording, by visiting gramophone.co.uk/podcasts.PHOTOGRAPHY: BENJAMIN EALOVEGA, MICHAEL MACHALEPIS…1 min

Issue September 2019 - Gramophone Magazine (2024)

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