Sean Shibe is the guest on this week's episode of the Gramophone Podcast, which is presented in association with Tomplay Sheet Music. He talks to James Jolly about the stop-start music-making experience of the pandemic and how it focused his mind on exploring Spanish music for the first time on record. Enjoy the podcast below:

This is 13-year-old violinist Christian Li's debut album for Decca Classics, a recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Li won the Junior category of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists at the age of 10. He is the youngest artist to sign for Decca Classics in the label's history.

This is Lucy Crowe's recital debut for Linn Records, though she starred on another Linn release earlier this year – Handel's Rodelinda with The English Concert and Harry Bicket – that was an Editor's Choice in the July issue (read the Gramophone review). Crowe and Anna Tilbrook have been performing live together for 20 years and this programme of Lieder by Strauss, Berg and Schoenberg gives both artists a chance to shine.

Timothy Ridout will be playing Walton's Viola Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo at the BBC Proms on August 27. On this new album with pianist Frank Dupree he performs Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and Schumann's Dichterliebe.

The Listening Room

Gramophone’s The Listening Room is an Apple Music playlist featuring hand-picked selection of the most interesting new classical releases chosen by Editor-in-Chief James Jolly. It’s the essential classical playlist:

Specialist Classical Chart

The Official Specialist Classical Chart Top 20 appears on the Gramophone website and is updated every Friday at 6pm (UK time). It’s a great way of exploring the new classical releases: 

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