Scarcely a month goes by without some orchestra, record label or PR person announcing the coming of the new great young conductor. And, to be fair to them, it’s very rare that they’re flogging a dead horse – there is so much young talent around these days and our musical lives are the better for it. But there is a world of difference between the prodigious young talent and the developing visionary who will one day become one of the greats, helping to shape all our cultural tastes.

It is hard to tell who will mature in what way. But Gramophone has quite a track record in these things (for proof, just look back at the youngsters we named “Tomorrow’s classical superstars” in the August 2006 issue). So, casting all the unholy powers of market hype aside, we took a long, hard look at the conducting prodigies staking their claims and in this issue we name 10 under the age of 40 who we believe are here to stay. Expect all of them to be running major orchestras and opera houses before too long. Oh, and before you ask, you won’t find Gustavo Dudamel in our list, being so far advanced already it hardly seemed appropriate (there is a Dudamel protégé though – which, I know, seems unlikely given that Dudamel himself is still only 30!). You will find the biggest emerging star of that generation, as Yannick Nézet-Séguin gives an open and fascinating account of what it is to be a young maestro today.

The death of our longtime vocal reviewer John Steane is sad indeed. Like many readers of Gramophone, I was brought up on his erudite and instantly memorable descriptions in this magazine of his favourite (and less favoured) singers. Although Gramophone’s tradition of great writing about music is alive and well, John’s unique style will be much missed. Shortly after I became editor, he asked me if he might write a piece comparing a recent Daniel Barenboim lecture to a similar speech by  Benjamin Britten. I hesitated, not greatly enthused, before consenting. The article was riveting and I told him that next time he should remind me that I was giving him dispensation to write whatever he wanted. He’d be the last one to say so, but John usually knew best.

james.inverne@haymarket.com