Few – if any – conductors today are held in such esteem as the acclaimed maestro Claudio Abbado, so a chance to discuss what lies behind his music-making is a fascinating read.

Abbado famously almost never gives interviews. But, in a fascinating exclusive, Gramophone spent time with him at his home in Bologna, for which we invited many of his musical friends and colleagues to propose questions – including Maurizio Pollini, Jonas Kaufmann, Yuja Wang, Thomas Quasthoff, Gil Shaham, Barbara Bonney and many others.

Also in the issue:

The best recording of Copland’s Third Symphony in the Gramophone Collection

Cellist Natalie Clein writes about recording Kodály in the Diary

Conductor Thomas Dausgaard champions composer Rued Langgaard in A Conversation With...

Philip Glass’s Music in Twelve Parts goes to The Trial

The music inspired by Emily Dickinson continues our Writers in Music series

There’s also our coverage of the latest Audio News and Reviews, and of course Editor’s Choice, plus more than 140 reviews including: Valery Gergiev and the LSO perform Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2, Bach’s B Minor Mass by John Butt and the Dunedin Consort, Sir Andrew Davis conducting Elgar symphonies, and Plácido Domingo and Lang Lang performing Leoncavallo.

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