Classical Music Publications: Does Anyone Subscribe?

[Guest]

Hello Everyone,

First of all I'd like to say I have just joined the forum so I apologise if I have posted this in the wrong section. I must admit I found the thought of posting here quite intimidating and could not find the introductions thread (if the forum has one). I thought it best to ask a question as away to introduce myself.

I haven't been listening to Radio 3 for long and in attempt to broaden my horizons I've been thinking about subscribing to a magazine. As far as I know there are three to choose from. The first being the BBC's own Music Magazine, Gramophone and the International Record Review. From what I've been able to surmise from the web sadly none of the three are as good as they once were. I'd be interested to know what you think of the magazines and if you subscribe to any of the above or another publication?

Kind Regards,

L'enfer

[amateur51]

Hello L'enfer and welcome to the Board

I subscribe to IRR and I'm now just starting my second year. I find its reviews to be well-written and authoritative and the whole magazine is a joy. I used to buy Gramophone on a monthly basis and grew dismayed with the way that a once greatly loved friend shrank and became a celebrity vehicle as opposed to a serious magazine about recordings.

I occasionally buy BBC MM usually for the 'free' CD if the music/performer appeals to me. The magazine is a quick read and there is the occasional worthwhile article. The reviews are rarely adequate compared to IRR, I'm afraid.

I hope that this is helpful. Others will join in soon I'm sure.

I'm glad that you've taken the jump and started posting - do jump in whenever the spirit moves you again

[Nick Armstrong]

Always great to read a first post.... I hope (in fact I am sure!) that the company you find here won't complete your pseudonym in Sartrean fashion by proving that 'L'enfer, c'est les autres'...

I bought Gramophone month in month out from early 1984 till last year, but became tired of the 'life-style' feel to much of its content. I found there was nothing in it I couldn't get from the internet. For me, the days of printed magazines are more or less dead... The BBC Mag might reel me in once in a while if the cover CD grabs me. But you'll find a lot of support here for IRR* and at least one forum member is a reviewer therein.

Welcome here, and hope you find much to interest and amuse you, and opportunities to do likewise for us.



* Amateur's intervening post proving my point already!!

[VodkaDilc]

Has it been suggested the IRR is not as good as it once was? I have not detected a decline.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Hell-o, L'enfer, and welcome to the Forum. Please don't feel intimidated about contributing to these Threads: everybody is quite accommodating - they even let me have my say! (And French Frank is a star who will gladly guide you around the various Boards until you feel "at home".)

You raise a very interesting question; there seems to be little between the "Popular" monthly publications (such as BBC Music Magazine) - which seem scared of printing anything that might be considered "too technical" and prefer gossip to News - and the more serious monthly/quarterly journals, such as The Musical Times, which are/seem to be addressed to readers already confident in the subject. There used to be a publication called Music and Musicians, but I don't know if it still exists. (Incidentally, I think International Record Review generally gets a good "press" here; certainly far more than Gramophone and/or the Beeb Mag).

You might find it more useful (and cheaper in the long run!) to get hold of some general Music History books (from a library, perhaps). Donald J Grout & Claude V Palisca'sA History of Western Music (published by Dent) is pretty good for the mainstream "Classical" repertoire, as was Harman, Milner & Mellers' Man & His Music (not sure if this is still in print). Then there are the more "scholastic" (but still very readable) volumes in the Prentice Hall series (individual books covering Music history from Mediaeval times to the 1960s, and including World Musics - but not, alas, Jazz.) With these under your belt, the likes of The Musical Times, Early Music, Tempo etc will be a doddle!

Oh; and that's another feature of these Boards: you ask one question and get lots of answers to another that you didn't ask!

Hope this helps, and Best Wishes.

[L'enfer]

Thank you both for replying and the warm welcome. I would have agreed with you Caliban and Sartre but I may love you already.

I'm sorry to hear that the classical publications have followed the rest of the print media and gone downhill. I've had to cancel several magazines this year as they have become almost unreadable I am looking for something to fill that void. I would have thought the BBC magazine which I assumed was funded via the license fee could have afforded to pander to the masses a little less. The free CD although nice was a red flag for me though I'm glad I came here before ordering. I ordered a copy of the IRR from their website, one trial issue only cost £1 so it's no great loss if not to my taste. I may try and pick up a single issue of both BMM and Gramophone just to see for myself but wouldn't not subscribe.

To any future participants of this thread please feel free to comment. I have not made up my mind just yet and would be delighted to hear your opinion. If nothing else it allows one to complain about how things are not as good as they used to be and that's always fun.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

If nothing else it allows one to complain about how things are not as good as they used to be and that's always fun.

Ahh! You've settled in already!

[L'enfer]

Has it been suggested the IRR is not as good as it once was? I have not detected a decline.

Not on this forum but I have perused others before joining here, there is just no pleasing some people. I can't comment however never having read the magazine.

Ferney I had come across Music and Musicians while searching the net for magazines, however I'm not a native to these shores and had no idea if it was still in print. This is the first time I've heard of The Musical Times I will have to look into that one. Thank you for suggesting the library I have not gotten round to getting a library card yet, I will take note though and see what I can find.

As for the cost it's not really that important I am used to getting magazines and have had to cancel them this year due to a dramatic fall in standards. I'm not expert on classical music though I play and listen but I'm not what you Brits would call a "boffin".

Thank you both for replies.

[John Skelton]

If nothing else it allows one to complain about how things are not as good as they used to be and that's always fun.

It's nothing like as much fun as it used to be, though.

[Curalach]

May I add my welcome L'enfer.

If you are looking mainly for record reviews then Gramophone and IRR do these best, though differently. I subscribe to both and look forward to their arrival each month. I started reading Gramophone over 50 years ago and while it has changed a lot I still find it worth reading.
There is nowadays a lot of record reviewing available on the internet, some of which is very worthwhile.

If your interest is more general, then Ferney's suggestions will be very helpful.

Whatever you decide, I look forward to your further posts.

[Chris Newman]

Hi, L'enfer, Welcome. I deduce from your avatar that you are a little devil. Coming to you question, as a teenager in the sixties I used to subscribe to and read Music and Musicians and the Gramophone. Then M & M folded up and I ceased taking The Gramophone years ago as the reviews tended to run according to the advertising. I have continued to take BBCMM since its start as I like the cover recordings. I hope you enjoy yourself on the message board.

BWS
Chris.

[Don Petter]

As far as I know there are three to choose from. The first being the BBC's own Music Magazine, Gramophone and the International Record Review. From what I've been able to surmise from the web sadly none of the three are as good as they once were.

I've taken IRR since the first issue, and haven't noticed any reduction in quality.

I see that some readers have not welcomed the new feature of devoting many pages to analysis of recordings of a single work, such as Don Carlos, but I don't really mind, although I didn't bother to read any of it - each to his own!

[salymap]

I used to get free copies of all the music mags when working in music [and compiling ads for them], but am quite happy with the BBC MM now. I really can't buy too many more CDs and they do have some interesting articles occasionally. The monthly CD is good value and I have relatives who are glad of it if not to my taste. And welcome L'enfer to the MBs

[Nick Armstrong]

Thank you both for replying and the warm welcome. I would have agreed with you Caliban and Sartre but I may love you already.

I'm sorry to hear that the classical publications have followed the rest of the print media and gone downhill. I've had to cancel several magazines this year as they have become almost unreadable I am looking for something to fill that void. I would have thought the BBC magazine which I assumed was funded via the license fee could have afforded to pander to the masses a little less. The free CD although nice was a red flag for me though I'm glad I came here before ordering. I ordered a copy of the IRR from their website, one trial issue only cost £1 so it's no great loss if not to my taste. I may try and pick up a single issue of both BMM and Gramophone just to see for myself but wouldn't not subscribe.

To any future participants of this thread please feel free to comment. I have not made up my mind just yet and would be delighted to hear your opinion. If nothing else it allows one to complain about how things are not as good as they used to be and that's always fun.

All of which goes to show I think that you are a natural here !!

Your comment that you assumed BBCMM, being "funded via the license fee could have afforded to pander to the masses a little less" echoes my feelings and of course applies to Radio 3 as a whole...

May I be curious? Where, beyond these shores, are you? And what proportion of your radio music listening is to R3, and how much to local stations (and which?)?

Forgive the early cross-examination (I am known as Rumpole by some of the regulars 'ere )

[L'enfer]

It may take me some time to reply I'm embarrassed to say that given my age - I am a great deal younger than the average forum user it seems - I am not very computer literate.

Curalach I do enjoy reading reviews mainly to compare my views to that of the reviewer. I started buying CDs before Christmas before then I did not really care about owning the music, I just used the radio and the internet. However I've taken a fancy to building a library of my own there was always records or CDs at home and I miss that. I'm aware that Radio 3 has a "Building a Library"/CD review on a Saturday morning but I've found them a little lacklustre, I will continue to listen though. I have a dozen or more CDs on their way to me as I type.

Due to illness I don't get out to events as much as I did even a few months ago although I do have a tickets for quite a few things in the coming months I've felt cut-off lately from the "scene". My thinking was that a magazine may help keep me up-to-date.

Just so things are clear I was not saying anything negative about IRR. I had read on another forum that "not even IRR is the same" that's that persons opinion not mine I have yet to read the magazine. Should anyone like the URL and or username of said person so they can rough him/her up slightly feel free to message me. I have nothing against IRR magazine though.