In the July 2017 issue of Gramophone, Hugo Shirley revisits Karajan’s groundbreaking Ring cycle, half a century after it was recorded, and discusses what it reveals about the conductor’s unique, theatrical approach.

Elsewhere in Gramophone, Philip Clark meets Herbert Blomstedt in Leipzig ahead of the acclaimed conductor’s 90th birthday to talk about Beethoven, and Richard Lawrence travels to France to interview French soprano Véronique Gens about her new recording celebrating women in 19th-century opera.

In addition to our regular features, which this month profile the likes of conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent, composer Howard Skempton and mezzo-soprano Alice Coote, Gramophone – as ever – brings you our expert critics’ opinions of the newest classical releases. Don’t miss it!

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Click on any of the images above to take a closer look at the July issue