Gramophone Magazine

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.

The sharing of styles can be enriching for all • Founded in 1923 by Sir Compton Mackenzie and Christopher Stone as ‘an organ of candid opinion for the numerous possessors of gramophones’

Gramophone Magazine • Volume 103 Number 1263

GRAMOPHONE Editor’S Choice • Martin Cullingford’s pick of the finest recordings from this month’s reviews

FOR THE RECORD

ONE TO WATCH

GRAMOPHONE Online • The magazine is just the beginning. Visit gramophone.co.uk for …

IBS Classical • In this month’s introduction to a classical record label, Tim Parry investigates the history and catalogue of a young Spanish company

IN THE NEW EDITION OF OPERA NOW • Editor Hattie Butterworth introduces the Spring issue of Gramophone’s sister title

Bob Chilcott • The composer on the BBC’s new education initiative, BBC Get Singing

Passacaglia • Jed Distler introduces a formidable pianistic edifice built on the opening of a Schubert symphony

Coming back home to sing once again • As the Exilarte Zentrum in Vienna marks its tenth birthday, James Jolly learns about its mission to bring home musical estates and give the composers a voice

Letter of the Month

NOTES & LETTERS • Write to us at St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB or gramophone@markallengroup.com; email is preferable

OBITUARIES

GRAMOPHONE NEXT MONTH APRIL 2026

HOPE ASCENDING • Featuring works by Vaughan Williams, Ellen Reid and Caroline Shaw as well as American folk music, Pekka Kuusisto’s new album is a deeply personal search for beauty amid tragedy, as Mark Seow discovers

The musical alchemist • It’s 400 years since his death, but the music of the Renaissance composer and lutenist feels as compelling and contemporary as ever. Edward Breen tells his story, and traces the history of his music on record

SOME RECOMMENDED DOWLAND RECORDINGS • Six albums that reveal a spread of approaches to this music

In the shadow of Shostakovich • In the aftermath of the death of Shostakovich in 1975, a plethora of works were composed in his memory, many of them symphonies. Daniel Driscoll explores these pieces and their recordings

OTHER SIGNIFICANT RECORDINGS • Worth a listen for their relevance around Shostakovich’s death

RECORDINGS OF WORKS DEDICATED TO SHOSTAKOVICH • Some are no longer officially available, though they can usually be found online to stream or to purchase second-hand

GRAMOPHONE RECORDING OF THE MONTH • Charlotte Gardner hears Pekka Kuusisto reflect on grief and loss through the music of Vaughan Williams and a collection of deeply expressive American works

Orchestral

Walton’s First Symphony • Kazuki Yamada enthusiasm brings a wholly fresh perspective to this work, finds Richard Bratby

Chamber

Owen Brannigan • Michael McManus makes the case for the rediscovery of the Geordie bass who flourished in folk song as well as opera, was the archetypal humble superstar and proved a perfect muse for Britten

Instrumental

INSTRUMENTS OF THE WORLD

GRAMOPHONE Collector BACH’S SOLO CELLO SUITES • Mark Seow rounds up a selection of recent recordings of a sextet of works that...