The Gramophone Award-winning harpsichordist and conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini founded his ensemble, Concerto Italiano, 30 years ago. Since then they have established themselves as one of the leading exponents of 18th-century Italian repertoire. Gramophone's Editor-in-Chief James Jolly went to Paris where Alessandrini was performing Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea to talk to him about his ensemble's history and his latest recording project for Naive, a Mass reconstruction for the Feast of Saint Mark. The podcast is the latest in Gramophone's Milestone's series of conversations in association with EFG International, the private bank for classical music.

As well as hearing about the history of Concerto Italiano, the podcast features music from some of Alessandrini's Naive recordings including a Vivaldi concerto, a Monteverdi madrigal and part of the new Mass reconstruction. 

Download the podcast from iTunes now