Last month’s editorial focused on the power of live performance. So this month I’ll swing right to the other end of the spectrum – back into the studio (or the myriad forms that a studio can take, from purpose-built venues, to cathedrals, town halls, concert halls or anywhere where a fine acoustic can be found). But not to focus on the artists this time, but on the people behind the scenes – or more accurately behind the microphones and desks.

I hope a magazine like ours never neglects these possessors of brilliant minds and ears, but as we unveil our shortlist for this year’s Awards in our new issue, it’s worth highlighting once again that when it comes to the superb sound you hear in your living rooms, the experience and expertise of engineers and producers is an absolutely vital part of the creative process.

This year sees a new category marking our association with Apple Music: Spatial Audio. This is a development we’ve covered in some depth in recent issues, but in short it’s the use of Dolby Atmos technology to create a highly realistic sense of being in the same acoustic as where the music was made. Voting for this Award led to a fascinating discussion – for which we’re hugely grateful for the insights of Floating Earth’s sound specialists Steve Long and Mike Hatch – about what exactly can be achieved, how you do it, and how approaches can vary. You can find our sonically compelling shortlist on page 29 of the latest issue.

And for a detailed insight into what a sound engineer does, do visit our website where we’ve published a wide-ranging interview with Simon Eadon about what the role involves, and how it’s evolved over 50 years (and an incredible 1800 recordings, many Gramophone Awards among them). I’ve had the pleasure of watching him work on several occasions, including once when I met him outside Henry Wood Hall as dawn was breaking in order to get a real insight into exactly what happens long before the musicians – or for that matter journalists! – arrive. It was a joy to talk at such length to someone whose career has contributed so much.

Also last month, we paid a sadder tribute, to producer Brian Culverhouse, who has died aged 93. Having joined EMI in 1947, his more than half-century career embraced a whole host of labels, including numerous recordings for Music (and Classics) for Pleasure which started many a music lover on a lifelong journey. Among his achievements was EMI’s glorious 19-LP Great Cathedral Organ series, a survey of the instruments and soloists as heard by congregations of the 1960s. While researching a feature about the history of Abbey Road in 2011, I encountered the studio’s remastering geniuses bringing the latest technology to bear on these musical and historic artefacts, with splendid results – yet another example of the remarkable experts behind the scenes who are so crucial to our art form. Figures such as these – to many listeners, no more than recognisable names on the back of album sleeves, but to musicians an intrinsic part of the creative process – deserve our heartfelt admiration. So as you tune in to our Awards on October 5, with its understandable focus on the achievements of the artists, don’t forget to raise a glass to their wonderful contribution too. 

Gramophone's October 2021 issue is available now