International Record Review

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Just a quick heads-up that the July issue of IRR which landed on the doormat today is 104 pages, its longest since I've subscribed/ written for it. I did a quick tally of reviews compared to the August(!) issue of Gramophone:

IRR: 102 individual reviews, + 5 book reviews, + 11 pages of round-up/ reissues articles over 77 pages

Gramophone: 91 reviews + 1 book review + 3 pages of reissues over 38 pages

Also, 8 pages of New Release listings in IRR; 2 in Gramophone.

Time to catch up with some reading now...

[Barbirollians]

Gramophone is a shadow of its former self - frankly it is a disgrace.

[Roehre]

Reading IRR takes time and I always end up with a list (too long) of the discs I want to buy.

I know that sinking feeling.....

[MickyD]

Thanks for that interesting comparison with Gramphone, IGI. Personally I am still really thrilled with having made the switch to IRR and only wish I hadn't been so hesitant in doing so for such a long time. IRR is exactly the magazine that disgruntled Gramophone readers should try.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Moral: write to Máire - she listens!

Máire has indeed read this thread as well! One of the things I suggested to her that I would miss about reading Gramophone was the 'Collection' feature. The gauntlet was thrown down... so I spent much of the summer listening to many versions of Verdi's Don Carlos for a 'building a library'-type feature!

It's a reasonably substantial piece and appears in the November issue, out this weekend: http://recordreview.co.uk/index.php

[MickyD]

Máire has indeed read this thread as well! One of the things I suggested to her that I would miss about reading Gramophone was the 'Collection' feature. The gauntlet was thrown down... so I spent much of the summer listening to many versions of Verdi's Don Carlos for a 'building a library'-type feature!

It's a reasonably substantial piece and appears in the November issue, out this weekend: http://recordreview.co.uk/index.php

Bravo, IGI! It is indeed just what is missing from this otherwise excellent magazine, so I hope it will become a regular feature. It is also good to know that the editor is reading this thread...she must be very happy with most of the comments here!

[amateur51]

Máire has indeed read this thread as well! One of the things I suggested to her that I would miss about reading Gramophone was the 'Collection' feature. The gauntlet was thrown down... so I spent much of the summer listening to many versions of Verdi's Don Carlos for a 'building a library'-type feature!

It's a reasonably substantial piece and appears in the November issue, out this weekend: http://recordreview.co.uk/index.php

Too soon, too soon! I'm still in the middle of the July/August edition!. It's a great read!

[Parry1912]

Máire has indeed read this thread as well! One of the things I suggested to her that I would miss about reading Gramophone was the 'Collection' feature. The gauntlet was thrown down... so I spent much of the summer listening to many versions of Verdi's Don Carlos for a 'building a library'-type feature!

It's a reasonably substantial piece and appears in the November issue, out this weekend: http://recordreview.co.uk/index.php

Excellent! Looking forward to it

I hope this will become a regular feature.

[soileduk]

Ladies and Gentlemen, for what its worth I have just this very minute subscribed to IRR. Thank you for infecting me with your enthusiasm.

[makropulos]

Excellent! Looking forward to it

I hope this will become a regular feature.

I know that's the plan - but these things take a lot of work. Following in IGI's footsteps, I've written one on the Glagolitic Mass which should be out early next year - whenever space permits.

[jayne lee wilson]

This is very welcome news, well done IRR! Love Nigel Simeone's roundups too. Keen to see their review of Behlolavek's Martinu soon...
Dear old, sad old, glitzy new Gramophone. Collection can still work, Achenbach on Dvorak 5 in October issue was dashed good, led to purchases of Suitner and Rowicki cycles!

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

Following in IGI's footsteps, I've written one on the Glagolitic Mass which should be out early next year - whenever space permits.

Excellent news! I shall look forward to it, makropulos.

[Bryn]

I know that's the plan - but these things take a lot of work. Following in IGI's footsteps, I've written one on the Glagolitic Mass which should be out early next year - whenever space permits.

I wonder if, by the time it comes to be published, you will be able to refer to a recording of the edition prepared by Jiří Zahrádka and Leoš Faltus, as played on the first night of this years proms, and so badly dynamically compressed for broadcast and the iPlayer?

[Barbirollians]

Excellent news meanwhile someone needs to give Robert Matthew Walker a chill pill over the ordering of the middle movements of the Mahler 6 - his exchange with the lecturer generated rather more heat than light and some of his remarks struck me as intemperate and did not reflect well on him.

And I speak as someone who prefers the Andante-Scherzo order.

It would also be interesting to have a " second opinion " feature rather like RL's much missed Quarterly Retrospect that used to be in Gramophone. Returning to RMW - I should have liked a different consideration of the Gergiev Mahler records. I have only heard one the 5th and I hated it.

[VodkaDilc]

Excellent news meanwhile someone needs to give Robert Matthew Walker a chill pill over the ordering of the middle movements of the Mahler 6 - his exchange with the lecturer generated rather more heat than light and some of his remarks struck me as intemperate and did not reflect well on him.

And I speak as someone who prefers the Andante-Scherzo order.

It would also be interesting to have a " second opinion " feature rather like RL's much missed Quarterly Retrospect that used to be in Gramophone. Returning to RMW - I should have liked a different consideration of the Gergiev Mahler records. I have only heard one the 5th and I hated it.

Not to mention some very obscure meanderings about the order of movements in the original 3 movement version of Walton's 1st Symphony. (October: Letter P14)