# BBC Music Magazine with CD -- your thoughts



## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Back in the early 1990s (~ 1993-4), I subscribed to the mag+CD. I wasn't into classical as much then as I am now, so I never really paid the duo much attention. I still have the CDs, but lost all the mags; I rarely play those CD (if ever). 
I see mag is still going.

Something occurred to me a few years back. Many of those CDs (perhaps most??) feature various BBC orchestras. Since YouTube, I've become quite familiar with BBC orchestras -- playing at Proms, etc. And often, I've been impressed by the performance and recordings. Indeed, there have been times I wished I had a CD of a particular Proms concert I saw on YouTube.

I'm not sure how the myriad BBC orchestras have evolved over the years. Have they really improved?

For those that still follow the BBC mag+CD, how does it hold up today?

Refs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Music_Magazine
https://www.knowledgewise.co.uk/music/


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

"Indeed, there have been times I wished I had a CD of a particular Proms concert I saw on YouTube."

With a program like Ummy video downloader, it's possible to collect YT videos and convert them to a CD for one's personal use; an increasing number of concerts have been uploaded in HD sound. I have the BBC recording of the Mahler 10th (Cooke performance edition) with Mark Wigglesworth that has held up just fine. I'm glad to still have Mahler's amazing final symphony whether or not he was able to complete the entire orchestration before his untimely death.

https://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symphony-No-10/dp/B000BJOOF2


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I don't need more magazines littering my house even if it's BBC Music. And the CDs? I have several that like you, I never play.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have picked up a few of those CDs for 50 cents each at library sales etc. Never anything I was that excited about.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Fritz Kobus said:


> I have picked up a few of those CDs for 50 cents each at library sales etc. Never anything I was that excited about.


You obviously didn't hear this one, then.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Larkenfield said:


> With a program like Ummy video downloader, it's possible to collect YT videos and convert them to a CD for one's personal use; an increasing number of concerts have been uploaded in HD sound.


I use jDownloader for YT downs. It has been around a long time, and offers many features. But I've never seen YT with HD audio??? Is this a YouTube Red (Premium ) service?

Back to BBC mag .... the full list of CDs was in the link in my OP:
https://www.knowledgewise.co.uk/music/

Of the few I own, the 1994 Walton Sym. 1 is the one that got the most play. Until LSO/Colin Davis released Symp 1 in early 2006.


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## regnaDkciN (May 24, 2011)

I didn't even know that BBC magazine was still being published. Back when my parents were still alive, I used to get them a subscription, but that was almost twenty years ago.

I do remember that the most unusual cover CD was of excerpts of a musical comedy by Shostakovitch about tenants at a Moscow apartment building.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

There are some gems, e.g. Wigglesworth's Mahler 10, Vásáry's Chopin, Rostropovich's Bach Cello Suites, Honeck's Mahler 1, Jerusalem Quartet's Shostakovich 8... Just don't expect a "reference" recording every month; and be prepared for a Christmas choral CD every year.

As for the BBC orchestras, well they are nice... I'm rather impressed by the sheer number of them.



regnaDkciN said:


> ...
> I do remember that the most unusual cover CD was of excerpts of a musical comedy by Shostakovitch about tenants at a Moscow apartment building.


This? :lol:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Merl said:


> You obviously didn't hear this one, then.
> 
> View attachment 110252


Well they definitely have some good ones, I just haven't run across the good ones. May be a reason for the ones I find on sale cheap.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Kiki said:


> There are some gems, e.g. Wigglesworth's Mahler 10, Vásáry's Chopin, Rostropovich's Bach Cello Suites, Honeck's Mahler 1, Jerusalem Quartet's Shostakovich 8... Just don't expect a "reference" recording every month; and be prepared for a Christmas choral CD every year.
> 
> As for the BBC orchestras, well they are nice... I'm rather impressed by the sheer number of them.
> 
> This? :lol:


Hey, that one was floating around at my library in the 50 cents rack. I picked it up a few times but not knowing the story threw it back. I wonder if it is still there. I should look up the synopsis.


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

Fritz Kobus said:


> Hey, that one was floating around at my library in the 50 cents rack. I picked it up a few times but not knowing the story threw it back. I wonder if it is still there. I should look up the synopsis.


Ha ha it's been sitting on my bookshelf for 23 years but I've never listened to it, until now. It's a satirical musical with a satirical Shostakovich touch. Just don't expect Les Misérables.


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## arpeggio (Oct 4, 2012)

I subscribe.

Generally speaking I find the articles to be inconsistent. Most of the time they are not interesting to me but always there is a least one article that is enlightening.

As far as the recordings I like them. Most of them are good recordings. It is impossible to have recordings of everything. I frequently am introduced to new works that I was unfamiliar with.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I bought a few at B&N just for the covers. It is a classy looking magazine. I have the Rostropovich, Boulez, Bernstein and Shostakovich cover issues. I still haven't listened to the Slava/Bach cello suites CD. I did listen to the Mahler 4th CD but I've already got three other versions. The CDs are too mainstream and predictable every month. People who listen to classical music already have all this stuff.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Five of the best accompanying CDs, usually very cheap, that I have decided to keep are 

- Mahler X/Wigglesworth
- Schubert String Quintet/Vellinger
- Walton Symphony + Takemitsu From Me Flows What You Call Time
- Britten Plymouth Town, Nocturne + Grace Williams Ballad for Orchestra
- Clara Schumann Konzertstuck, Fanny Mendelssohn Trio

I've probably got a couple more.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Fritz Kobus said:


> I have picked up a few of those CDs for 50 cents each at library sales etc.


50 cents? Rats. I paid 99 cents for mine.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

I stopped buying the magazine because it’s just a bit to light for me, especially since Gramophone has improved over the past years. Some of the CDs were very good but the last batch that I auditioned just seemed to be run through of basic repertoire that is already well represented in my collection. There are two discs of Schubert Piano music that I obtained from the early days of the magazine that I still play frequently.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I have the Honeck Mahler 1 with the BBC SO but compared to the Pittsburgh recording, that he put out years later, it's very average (although most Mahler 1sts are average in comparison to that disc). I read somewhere that Honeck studied his BBC recording to hear how he could improve his reading, prior to the Pittsburgh performance. It certainly worked. The Pittsburgh account is still my favourite Mahler 1st.


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

I have been subscribing to it for a while and do enjoy reading it. Even had a letter published


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Picked this one up at the library sale but haven't listened to it yet.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Judith said:


> I have been subscribing to it for a while...


You're not alone. Wiki est. of subscribers ca. 2015: 37,530


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I stopped my subscriptions to BBC and a few other classical music mags. a few years ago. My problem with the BBC mag. was the very short and useless reviews plus not many reviews either. I did like the free CD though.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I've bought a few magazines over the years, and I've about a dozen of their CDs. My mother had a subscription in the 90s, she has dozens of their CDs. I like the short articles, easy and quick to read. Light fair, like a magazine but of a subject matter I find interesting. Some of the CDs are good, some not so good. That's hardly surprising. 

I've thought about getting a subscription but it's quite expensive to deliver here, and I've a small letter box in my apartment, I'm afraid the postman will fold and bend the magazine to fit it in. The bookstore usually has it for sale, though two months behind the current issue. So I usually buy it when the CD looks interesting.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

There were some excellent (& rare) CDs issued by BBC magazine, during the years that I subscribed. (Yes, I've let my subscription lapse recently, but will likely re-subscribe at some point in the future). Two of my favorite BBC CDs were a Schubert String Quintet, with cellist Bernard Greenhouse (of the Beaux Arts Trio), and the Vellinger Quartet (whatever happened to them? they were so good!), and the only recording that I know of Pierre Boulez's 'complete' edition containing every note that Claude Debussy composed for Gabriele D'Aunnuzio's 1911 five act play, Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, as performed by the BBC Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Thierry Fischer. The Schubert Quintet is one of the finest versions I know of that work, and the Debussy CD is essential listening for those, who, like myself, are on a quest to hear every note that Debussy composed. I see both CDs can still be purchased on Amazon UK (& they're more reasonably priced there than on Amazon US--last I checked):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Schubert-S...43703678&sr=1-5&keywords=schubert+quintet+BBC
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Martyrdom-...rds=debussy+bbc+thierry+fischer+st.+sebastien

I also enjoyed the BBC interviews with various conductors (which would sometimes appear on the cover CDs with the magazine). I particularly recall being fascinated by Paul McCreesh's discussion of the music of George Frederic Handel, a composer that McCreesh excels in. Unfortunately, that may be a difficult CD to track down nowadays. There were also interesting interviews with John Eliot Gardiner (on Bach), and others.


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

I used to get it along with Gramophone and Classical CD, I have a stack of the CDs but now I get the free ‘On Line’ version I have not signed up for the free d/l but may do that now.


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## 13hm13 (Oct 31, 2016)

Performances aside, the BBC duo was (is??) well produced. Cover graphics of CD case are usually good, and that mag may have been the ultimate in "liner notes". But no cake and eating: many performances was are subpar. 

I don't recall if Music mag ran ads???


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