In a series of four Decca Icons podcasts, Gramophone's James Jolly explores the artistry of four major recording musicians with Rob Cowan, Jed Distler and Richard Fairman. Focusing on recordings in the Decca catalogue, the series turns the spotlight on Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Georg Solti and Benjamin Britten. Each podcast is accompanied by a special Apple Music playlist.

In this second podcast, James talks to the New York-based critic, composer, broadcaster and piano enthusiast Jed Distler about the Russian-born pianist and conductor, Vladimir Ashkenazy.