Insight and opinion from leading figures in classical music.
Discover world history, culture and ideas with today’s leading experts
This show is all about some beautiful moments of our history and childhood memories.
Podcast by When The Gramophone Rings
Earl Okin is a singer songwriter and comedy performer. This is his show.
All the news, none of that gross newsprint feel
The Sound of the Hound is a podcast series about the people and the technology that brought recorded music to the masses in Victorian London and beyond. In it, journalist and author James Hall and music industry executive Dave Holley chronicle the adventures of the early sound pioneers as they risked life and limb to capture sound and launch the music business as we know it today. In particular, the series focuses on a genius called Fred Gaisberg. The world’s first A&R man, Fred was a ni ...
Music in the Key of Geneva is an ongoing project of the Geneva Historical Society. The podcast features stories on the history and current musical life of Geneva, NY.
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Cyrille Dubois on recording the complete Fauré songs
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The French tenor, Cyrille Dubois, with his regular piano partner Tristan Raës, releases the complete songs by Gabriel Fauré on May 27. This Aparté release is the first time the entire song output of the composer has been recorded by a single singer. James Jolly caught up with Cyrille Dubois to discuss the project, and also hear about what the tenor…
Earl Okin's Gramophone Show No.157. To listen or download, please click HERE... (1) LA JUIVE – Halévy. Si La Rigueur (in Italian). VITTORIO ARIMONDI. (2) On A Cold And Frosty Morning – Hargreaves/Demerell. BOBBY COMBER. (3) Two Sleepy People – Carmichael/Loesser. ELLA LOGAN & HOAGY CARMICHAEL. (4) LA GIOCONDA – Ponchielli. Cielo E Mar. ALFRED PICCA…
Since ancient times the practice of castrating pre-pubescent boys, and sometimes men, was thought to make them loyal servants, suitable for roles at the heart of many imperial courts. Some historians believe this began with human slaves who were treated in the same way as animals – as lesser beings to be managed and controlled – with no free choice…
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Anne Akiko Meyers on her new album, 'Shining Night'
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Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers's new album, 'Shining Night', takes listeners on a musical journey through the passing of a day - via Villa-Lobos, Leo Brouwer, Bach and even Elvis - much of it in the company of guitarist Jason Vieaux. She talks to Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford about how she developed this wonderful programme. A Gramophone Podc…
Vikings were addicted to silver; they collected it as coins, as ingots, arm-rings, jewellery. On one Swedish island alone archaeologists and metal detectorists found some 200,000 silver coins and there is a silver hoard there for almost every Viking farm. Why? What can the coins, many of which came from Asia, tell us not just about the huge Viking …
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Jakub Józef Orliński on his Polish song album, 'Farewells'
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Jakub Józef Orliński was Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year in 2019 and in the three years since has established himself as one of the world’s leading countertenors. An exclusive Erato artist, he’s made a trio of recordings of Baroque music, but his new album, ‘Farewells’, for which he's partnered by Michał Biel, features a selection of Polish a…
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Fertiliser and poison gas: The legacy of chemist Fritz Haber
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German chemist Fritz Haber's discovery of how to turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia is seen as one of the most significant of 20th century science - it enabled the industrial manufacture of fertilisers, which now provide food for up to half the planet's people.But he was also responsible for the development and deployment of poison gas on the b…
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Anne Dudley on how a new piano inspired her lockdown album
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The Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley has just released an album, 'Crossing the Bar', created during lockdown and prompted by her acquiring a new piano. Gramophone's James Jolly went to speak to her at Angel Studios in Islington about the album, but also about her work in music across so many different genres. Gramophone Podcasts are presented in …
Nero fiddled while Rome burned, didn’t he? At least, that’s what the history books tell us. Nero’s image as a depraved tyrant has been handed down to us by three biased sources, written after the emperor’s suicide in 68AD. These sources have informed interpretations of Nero’s legacy ever since, so much so that his involvement in the Great Fire of R…
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Emmanuelle Haïm on 20 years of Le Concert d’Astrée
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This week's guest is Emmanuelle Haïm, the conductor of Le Concert d’Astrée, and the creative spirit behind its superb catalogue of brilliant and Award-winning albums. It's 20 years since she founded the ensemble to perform baroque music, and in a celebratory podcast Haïm tells Editor Martin Cullingford about those two decades of discovery. Musical …
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Mirror Mirror on the wall: The history of the looking glass
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For the Ancient Egyptians they were seen as receptacles for the soul, for the Aztecs they were used to tell the future and for the early Christians, they were an aid for reaching self-knowledge. And mirrors’ key role in the reflection of light led to the development of high-powered telescopes to explore the universe. No human invention has been so …
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A Gramophone Podcast revisited: Exploring the genius of JS Bach
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While we take a short break, we've revisited one of the most popular episodes we've published. It's a conversation devoted to exploring the music, life and legacy of a composer whose work is very associated with Easter – the greatest genius of Baroque music, JS Bach. In March 2021, Editor Martin Cullingford invited Bach specialist and Gramophone re…
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Kwame Nkrumah: Ghana’s Pan-African idealist
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Kwame Nkrumah was considered by some as a visionary hero who urged would-be leaders in Africa to embrace the idea of unity for the continent, and led Ghana to independence from British colonial rule in 1957.But in becoming Ghana’s first prime minister, and then president, he was criticised for his autocratic style of government and the way in which…
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Jean-Efflam Bavouzet on Mozart on piano concertos
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In this week's Gramophone Podcast Editor Martin Cullingford meets with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet to discuss volume six of his series of Mozart piano concertos, recorded with the Manchester Camerata and conductor Gábor Takács-Nagy. This album features Piano Concerto No 22, K482 and No 23, K488, and is available on the Chandos label. Gramophone Podcasts a…
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The Truman Doctrine: Beginnings of the Cold War
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President Harry Truman's address to the United States Congress, and the world, in March 1947 is seen by some historians as marking the start of the Cold War.In it, the President committed the USA to the role of defender of global democracy, and pledged to contain the expansion of the Soviet Union and the spread of communism. The Truman Doctrine, as…
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Introducing the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition
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The 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition launches on Tuesday, April 5 with its preliminary rounds in London. Between then and April 10, some of the world's most impressive young ensembles will be performing in front of an impressive jury until one is awarded first prize, and the guarantee of a glowing future. James Jolly went …
Earl Okin's Gramophone Show No. 156. To download, please click HERE... (1) Crépuscule – Massenet. AMELITA GALLI-CURCI. (2) Simon The Bootlegger – Hilliam. FLOTSAM & JETSAM. (3) Mickey Mouse And Minnie's In Town - Ronell. BEN BERNIE ORCH. (4) Oh! Could I In Song – Malashkin. OSKAR KAMIONSKY. (5) A Little Beauty – Carney. ART CARNEY. (6) The Wedding …
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Margaret Fuller: Early feminist and war correspondent
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In in her 1843 essay The Great Lawsuit, the American journalist and early feminist Margaret Fuller forcefully argued for the rights of women to work, think and live on their own terms, not just as companions and foils for men. She was one of the first Americans to do so. Fuller was a pioneer in other respects too: a trail blazer for advocacy journa…
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Osmo Vänskä on the Minnesota Orchestra, Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year
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Last year – and for the fourth consecutive year – we asked our readers, followers and visitors to our website to vote, from a short list of 10, for our Orchestra of the Year for 2021. Thousands of votes were cast, but romping in by a long margin, was the Minnesota Orchestra. As we look back on that Award, Gramophone's Editor in Chief, James Jolly, …
From Mesopotamian loan records which are over 4,000 years old to the cryptocurrencies of today, money has been with us for a long time. But how did we get from exchanging bits of metal or cowrie shells to the algorithmic trading of shares? Why did paper money originate in Song-dynasty China? Why was the Gold Standard adopted in the 19th Century? An…
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Paul Hillier on Jóhann Jóhannsson's Drone Mass
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A recording of Drone Mass by the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson is released today by Deutsche Grammophon, performed by Theatre of Voices and ACME, and conducted by Paul Hillier. In this week's Gramophone podcast, Hillier joins Editor Martin Cullingford to recall the creative process of working with Jóhannsson, and to explore this fascina…
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Pinocchio: The real story of the mischievous wooden puppet
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Pinocchio is a cultural icon. He is the wooden puppet who can talk and walk. A cheerful headstrong character who keeps breaking the rules, and whose dream is to become a real boy. His story has been the subject of many retellings, and his growing nose when he lies has become a way to satirise politicians the world over. But Pinocchio’s origins are …
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Nadine Sierra on her new album 'Made for Opera'
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The American soprano Nadine Sierra's second album for DG, 'Made for Opera', focuses on three timeless operatic heroines, Verdi's Violetta in La traviata, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Gounod's Juliette from Roméo et Juliette. She's partnered by the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Gramophone Podcasts are g…
Try and imagine a world without numbers. Telling people how many siblings you have, counting your wages or organising to meet a friend at a certain time would all be much more difficult. If you’re reading this on a digital screen, even these words are produced through a series of zero and one symbols. We take them so much for granted yet some cultu…
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Martin James Bartlett on his new Gershwin and Rachmaninov album, 'Rhapsody'
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For his second album for Warner Classics, the pianist Martin James Bartlett brings together works by Gershwin and Rachmaninov, both solo and with orchestra. James Jolly met up with Martin to talk about the album, the connections it makes and his admiration for the work and playing of the American pianist Earl Wild. Gramophone Podcasts are given in …
The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh is one of the most influential painters in western art. His series of still life sunflowers are known around the world today but during his lifetime in the 1800s he lived in poverty, selling very little of his work, some say just one painting, and suffered several serious breakdowns. One of his …
Earl Okin's Gramophone Show No. 155 To listen or download please click HERE... 1) Honeysuckle Rose – Waller/Razaf. HORACE HENDERSON ORCHESTRA (with RAY NANCE) (2) PAGLIACCI – Leoncavallo. Un Tal Gioco. GIOVANNI ZENATELLO. (3) The Presidential Handicap - Weaver. 'DOODLES' WEAVER. (4) Fortune Telling Man – Coots/Davis. HELEN HUMES. (5) Brazil- Barros…
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François-Xavier Roth on Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande
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Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande was recorded for Harmonia Mundi, following performances directed by Daniel Jeanneteau at the Opéra de Lille last March. François-Xavier Roth conducted his period-instrument ensemble, Les Siècles, with Julien Behr and Vannina Santoni singing the title-roles. James Jolly caught up with the conductor by Zoom to talk abou…
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Franz Liszt: Hungarian pianist and painter in sound
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A proud Hungarian by birth, Franz Liszt was a pioneer both in his piano playing and in his compositions. He was also the nearest thing to a rock star that classical music had in the 19th century. Fans would reportedly swarm over him, try and grab his gloves, even smoke his discarded cigars!Liszt lived up to his public image in his private life, wit…
Gramophone Editor Martin Cullingford talks to Mozart expert Richard Wigmore about the composer's extraordinary life and music.
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Joseph Heller's Catch-22: A novel of twisted logic and absurd bureaucracy
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"That’s some Catch, that Catch 22". It’s a novel that gave rise to a new term in the English language and gave voice to American soldiers serving in Vietnam in the 1960s. Since its publication in 1961, Catch-22, Joseph Heller’s best-selling novel, has not only come to symbolise the cynical self-serving aspect of war run as a business, but also the …
For this week's Gramophone podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford is joined by violinist Daniel Hope to explore his new album 'America', available now on the Deutsche Grammophon labelBy Gramophone
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Sofya Kovalevskaya: The eventful life of a maths pioneer
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If you were a woman in the mid-19th century, some universities might let you attend public lectures on science, but very few would enrol women as regular students. The number of women allowed to sit exams and get academic degrees was vanishingly small. In mathematics it was almost unheard of.But the Russian mathematician Sofya Kovalevskaya changed …
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Leonidas Kavakos on Bach's solo violin suites
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Leonidas Kavakos's recording of the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin is newly released on Sony Classical. In today's Gramophone Podcast he talks to Editor Martin Cullingford about these extraordinary works.By Gramophone