Gramophone

The August 2025 issue of Gramophone celebrates the centenary of electrical recording, a technological step which revolutionised the quality of recorded sound, enabled recordings to be edited, and paved the way for modern recording techniques. Rob Cowan marks the anniversary, and considers the history of recorded sound on both sides of the electrical divide. Also in the issue, Marina Frolova-Walker presents a fascinating introduction to the life and work of the Polish composer Grażyna Bacewicz, whose music has surged in popularity since her death in 1969, while Sakari Oramo, who has recorded a second volume of her orchestral works for Chandos, discusses the impact of engaging with her music. Andrew Mellor meets the Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz – whose first Platoon album, ‘Revolución diamantina’, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Gustavo Dudamel, won a Grammy Award – and discusses her work and her influences, as well as her latest album for Platoon containing three works including a cello concerto, Dzonot, written for Alisa Weilerstein. In this month’s Icons, Philip Kennicott explores the legacy of the pioneering American harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick, while in Classics Reconsidered, Charlotte Gardner and Richard Bratby compare notes on the 1982 DG recording of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, K364, by Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman. For the August issue’s Collection, Fabrice Fitch investigates the history on record of one of the most important Renaissance Masses, Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli, while in our Contemporary Composers Andrew Mellor explores the work of the Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund and suggests some entry points for listening. Finally, in this month’s Musician & the Score, Richard Bratby discusses Shostakovich’s String Quartet No 8 with members of the Cuarteto Casals, who have recorded the work for Harmonia Mundi. Plus, as always, the latest classical music releases are reviewed by our expert critics, with the very best being named Editor’s Choices.