Our cover artist John Wilson’s musical range and accomplishment is well known to Gramophone readers, and he talks to us about his passion for music of all kinds and his work with the Sinfonia of London, which this year sees Chandos albums of Puccini, French repertoire, English music for strings and Guys and Dolls. Elsewhere in the issue Semyon Bychkov has recorded a Mahler cycle for Pentatone, and the release of a full box-set contains the newly issued No 8, the ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ – he tells us about his approach to performing and recording this mammoth score. We also interview a third conductor this issue – Hervé Niquet, esteemed for his work with the early music ensemble Le Concert Spirituel, who has recorded Couperin’s Leçons de ténèbresfor Alpha; he tells us about this project. In this month’s Icons, we look back on the career and recordings of the great German tenor Peter Schreier, one the finest lyric tenors of the 20th century, while in Classics Reconsidered we discuss the early 1960s recording of Bach’s St Matthew Passion by Otto Klemperer. Collection offers a survey of Bach’s Easter Oratorio, BWV249 and seeks out the finest recordings, while our Contemporary Composers feature explores the work of Eric Whitacre, best known on record for his choral music, whose enormous popularity extends to amateur singers and wind bands. Musician & the Score sees cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand talk about Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata, D821, while as always, our world-leading experts review the latest classical music albums, with the very best being named Editor’s Choices.