Simon Broughton talks to pianist Lusine Grigoryan about her new Komitas recording on ECM Ask someone to name an Armenian composer and the first name on the list is likely to be Aram Khachaturian, famous for his Gayane and Spartacus ballet scores. But for Armenians, their most treasured composer is Komitas (1869-1935), often described […]
Interviews and conversations
Interviews and conversations with interesting people
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The latest release from Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra features Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and Water, a new work by composer and member of Radiohead, Jonny Greenwood. For the lastest Gramophone podcast, Editor Martin Cullingford spoke to the conductor and violinist about the album, which is released by ABC Classics on vinyl in Australia, and […]
This piece originally appeared in Stereophile in May 2002: Mark Levinson, born December 11, 1946, celebrates an important anniversary in 2002. Exactly 30 years ago he jogged onto the playing field of high-end audio, so early in the game that fans, then few and far between, could count the players on their fingers. The high-fidelity […]
After a lifetime conducting Bach, John Eliot Gardiner has written an in-depth study of a genius touched by God. He talks to Ivan Hewett. Continue reading HERE
“Slash, 45, was born Saul Hudson in London and raised in England and Los Angeles. He was an original member of the rock band Guns N’ Roses which formed in 1985 and sold 100m albums worldwide. Slash – considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time – left Guns N’ Roses […]
Previously published: Martin Chilton writes: Randy Newman is touring the UK this month and has a new album out next year. In additional extracts from a recent interview with the 71-year-old Oscar-winning songwriter, Martin Chilton presents 10 answers to questions about music. Please click HERE to continue
Born in London, Yusuf Islam, 66, began his career as Cat Stevens and became a star in the 1970s with songs such as Morning Has Broken and Moonshadow. In 1977, he converted to Islam and left the music business to concentrate on his family and charity work. He began recording again in 2006; his latest […]
Chris Martens: Reviews of products from the US-based firm Audio Research Corporation have frequently graced the pages of Hi-Fi+, so that I was pleased to have the opportunity to visit the ARC factory in Plymouth, Minnesota (a suburb of the greater Minneapolis metropolitan area) to see how the firm’s components are made. What follows is […]
There was a bit of a fracas during Lang Lang’s Proms appearance. As he bounced back on stage for an encore, a heckler in the arena hooted derisively. An embarrassed murmur ran through the audience. There was some nervous laughter. But the pianist took it in his stride and began a Chopin Etude, seemingly unruffled. […]
John Adams has managed both to provoke and to console a nation with his trailblazing works. Philip Clark meets the American composer Please click HERE to view
Iestyn Davies is in demand as a recitalist, opera singer and West End star. But, says Lindsay Kemp, now with a Bach disc to add to his name, this countertenor still has his feet firmly on the ground Continues HERE
John Eliot Gardiner is an English conductor who has helped shape the direction of classical music performance for decades. He talked with DW about conducting four of Beethoven’s symphonies at the 2011 Beethovenfest. Please click HERE to continue reading
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Rebecca Nicholson (The Guardian) conducts the interview: Hello, Dolly! Hello, Rebecca! You know Rebecca is my middle name also? I do know that. It’s a good name. All right! At Glastonbury last month you played to what must have been 180,000 people. Is that the biggest show you have ever done? It probably is. I […]
The world-famous tenor says that he and his colleagues feel as though they are in ‘straight-jackets’ Please click HERE to continue
If history has taught us anything, it was that the age-old classical music scene has been dominated by the eccentric and the brilliant. Singapore’s musical child prodigy Min Lee will be part of that very rich history when she takes to the stage with the 300-year-old Brahms Stradivarius violin crafted by handcrafted by the great […]
Valentina Lisitsa was ‘just another blonde Russian pianist’ until a shaky home-made video changed everything. Forty-six million YouTube hits later, she talks about her remarkable renaissance. MORE
Bach’s initial Christmas Day Vespers as Thomaskantor was an overt display of music-making, with his Magnificat taking pride of place. For the Dunedin Consort’s new recording, John Butt has reconstructed the whole service as Bach might have celebrated it in 1723, writes David Vickers Continues HERE
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For all its delightful and ethereal tinkliness, the harp suffers from something of an identity crisis. It lacks the versatility of the piano or the piercing qualities of the violin, let alone the brute force of the brass, so if it isn’t careful it can find itself relegated to a soothing, background role. Catrin Finch […]
Neil McCauley asks Howard Popeck: What were the best reproduced sounds you ever heard in the early days? Not easy to answer. Depends on one’s definition of best. If you take just listenability i.e. the customer’s sound is so good right now that I’m not going to unpack my demo gear, then it would have […]
Chicago area native Dan Cray is perhaps best known as leader of the Dan Cray Trio. In an era when jazz gigs are hard to come by and musicians gravitate toward whatever opportunities come their way, the trio was a part of the Chicago jazz scene for a remarkable 10 years. Cray has spent […]