Gramophone launches its Hall of Fame

Gramophone has launched its Hall of Fame, a celebration of the men and women who made a major contribution to the breadth and depth of the classical record industry. From an initial, but by no means exhaustive, list of over 500 names, Gramophone readers and visitors to its website were invited to vote. The first 50 honorees are revealed in the May issue of Gramophone – each one championed by a musician, producer or Gramophone contributor – and our Hall of Fame microsite builds on that coverage with archive interviews and profiles, videos and recommended recordings.

The top five musicians to be honoured in the inaugural Hall of Fame comprise four conductors, Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Leonard Bernstein, and the soprano Maria Callas. To mark the launch of this annual initiative, Gramophone's May issue will carry (in countries where copyright permits) a disc of Herbert von Karajan conducting the Philharmonia in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Brahms's Second Symphony, performances also available in the Gramophone Player.