Earlier this year the Gramophone Podcast passed 1 million downloads. Now we’ve reached another milestone: our 500th episode. Launched before podcasting’s current popularity, the series steadily built a following, which grew substantially once we adopted a weekly schedule and set formats.

Those formats include: interviews with major artists on new albums; in-depth composer discussions; reflections with senior musical figures; and conversations with a new generation of musicians rethinking the artist’s role today.

In a special celebratory edition, James Jolly, Martin Cullingford, Tim Parry and Hattie Butterworth each choose a standout: Julian Bream on a life in music; William Christie on Mondonville; Richard Wigmore on the enduring brilliance of Schubert and Fatma Said on collaboration.

Gramophone's Editor Martin Cullingford speaks to James Jolly about the 2025 Orchestra of the Year nominated orchestras, discussing the impact each of them has made to recordings and the wider musical landscape

To vote for Gramophone's Orchestra of the Year 2025, head to gramophone.co.uk/vote25

Conductor John Andrews joins Hattie Butterworth to speak about the debut recording of Sir Granville Bantock and Marjory Kennedy-Fraser’s folk opera, The Seal Woman. They explore the folk song collecting of Marjory Kennedy-Fraser, as well as Andrews’s commitment to uncovering lesser-known repertoire