Bruckner takes centre stage this month with our ‘Gramophone Selects’ on medici.tv. Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in the great Fifth Symphony, Klaus Tennstedt joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1977 for the Seventh and, going back into the archive, William Steinberg conducts the same orchestra in the Eighth, a 1962 performance caught on the wing at Harvard University. Three obviously male conductors, so for our documentary choice we’ve opted for ‘Maestras: The Long Journey of Women to the Podium’, a fascinating glimpse into some of the women making in-roads into a traditionally men-only profession (Sylvia Caduff, Barbara Hannigan, Marin Alsop, Anu Tali and Konstantia Gourzi take to the podium). Our Young Artist this month is the violinist Alexandra Conunova, recently a Gramophone ‘One to Watch’ — catch her in recital at this year’s Verbier Festival. Dispensing wisdom in a masterclass is Sir András Schiff, guiding piano pupils of the Juilliard School through some classics. And for two performances, back to back, of the same work we’ve chosen Schumann’s Kreisleriana — Elisso Virsaladze and Nicholas Angelich take charge.
