Gramophone’s December issue marks the centenary of the death of the great French composer Gabriel Fauré – well known for a handful of works, including the Requiem and some chamber and piano pieces, we guide you through the full breadth of the output of this complex French composer.

Elsewhere in the issue, we talk to longtime collaborators Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott about their new album for Sony Classical, one rooted in the music of Fauré, and including works by Saint-Saëns, Pauline Viardot, and Nadia and Lili Boulanger.

Other articles include our annual Critics’ Choice feature, which invites our reviewers to name their album of the year; the Christmas round-up explores this year’s festive releases; and our annual Competition Guide outlines the best competitions across the UK, Europe, the US and beyond.

In Icons we reflect on the stellar career of the conductor and organist David Willcocks, best known for his work as Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge; in Classics Reconsidered, two of our writers look back on the 1944 recording of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony by Wilhelm Furtwängler and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; while our Collection, meanwhile, explores the history on record of Vaughan Williams’s Symphony No 9.

Contemporary Composer offers a summary of the work of the New York-based Lithuanian composer Žibuoklė Martinaityte; in Musician & the Score pianist Aimi Kobayashi talks about Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D935; and in My Music Jon Batiste talks about his long relationship with classical music.

Plus, as always, the most recent releases are reviewed by our panel of expert critics, with the best being named Editor’s Choices.