# Magazines



## oldguy5 (Jan 1, 2009)

What is generally considered to be the best magazine about classical music?

I have seen both Grammaphone (sp?) and BBC Music Magazine and I like them both but cannot afford to subscribe to both of them.

Could someone with past experience of both publications give me some help on this topic?


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Good question. Perhaps I'm not the best person to answer this- but I'll have a go...

I neither subscribe to nor regularly read _Gramophone_ or _BBC Music_. To me, it's much more fascinating to have _interactive_ conversations on forums like this one. Still, here's my side-by-side contrast of the two magazines:

_Gramophone_ is (IMO) the more interesting "read." However, _BBC Music_ frequently has "gimme" discs of complete repertory works (_Gramophone_'s "gimme" disc is limited to excerpts, snipet interviews, and spoken observations concerning a work or works). If _BBC Music_'s discs help supplement one's collection, I could see how one might prefer the latter. However, if "what's in black-and-white" is the sole consideration, I'd go with _Gramophone_.


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## Kuhlau (Oct 1, 2008)

Chi_town/Philly has expressed the differences between the magazines very aptly (I should know - I'm a long-time subscriber to both).

If I had to lose just one, however, I'd lose Gramophone ... but only because it's 'dumbing down' and filling more of its page space with adverts and filler articles that are of little consequence. It's no wonder I've started reading International Record Review.

See the top of the 'Resources' page of my blog for links to the above-mentioned magazines' sites, plus those of several other publications. 

FK


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## Mark Harwood (Mar 5, 2007)

My wife Carol subscribes to _BBC Music_ and _Classic FM._ The former has some substance and a good CD. The latter is a little bit silly.


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## Isola (Mar 26, 2008)

Kuhlau said:


> See the top of the 'Resources' page of my blog for links to the above-mentioned magazines' sites, plus those of several other publications.
> 
> FK


You have a really neat and informative blog, FK! About you sharing a name with a well-known pop star, could it be _Michael Jackson_?


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## Kuhlau (Oct 1, 2008)

Mark: Too true about Classic FM magazine. 

Isola: Thankfully, no. 

FK


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

I find the arrival of _Gramophone_ at the beginning of each month always gives me a bit of a lift, though it's also true that often it doesn't quite live up to my expectations in practice. I suppose I just quite like browsing through a _Gramophone-_flavoured view of what's currently around in the recorded music field, without necessarily believing all that I read; and provided I don't let my expectations rise too high, it's worth having. _Classic FM_ seems to offer very thin gruel - very unsatisfying to me - but lots of people seem to buy it, so maybe it has some quality that I'm missing. _BBC Music Mag_: very good, I'm sure, but just not quite my thing, so I can't comment sensibly.


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## Kuhlau (Oct 1, 2008)

Oh, how rude of me - I neglected to thank you, Isola, for your remark about my blog. That's very kind of you to say so. 

FK


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## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

I used to read a magazine called Classic CD - it was my fave among the classical music magazines. Then all of a sudden it was gone.


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## Misakichi_mx (Sep 17, 2008)

Well I don't know if this would qualify, but for strings I think my favorite one would be The Strad, given, it's a lot more specialized than a normal classical music magazine but it has some great articles and masterclasses, so for a string player it would be very useful (loved the Sibelius violin concerto masterclass by Leonidas Kavakos  )


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## oldguy5 (Jan 1, 2009)

*Classical Music Magazines*

Thanks, everyone, for their responses to my initial inquiry, it is greatly appreciated. But as usual, I would like more, that is just my nature I suppose.

So any more comments on this subject would be terrific. Mention of websites about classical music would be most welcome as well.

Also, where did I read this distrubing news lately? It was mentioned in a mag or site I visited that not as much classical music is recorded anymore. Is this true, and, if so, why is this?


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## Music lover (Jan 27, 2009)

has Classic CD actually gone? I haven't seen it in our shops either recently and wondered if that was the case.


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## Kuhlau (Oct 1, 2008)

Music lover said:


> has Classic CD actually gone? I haven't seen it in our shops either recently and wondered if that was the case.


It died a death some years ago, although its cover CDs litter charity shops up and down Britain. 

To harp on once more about my blog, the 'Resources' page now has links to 22 classical music magazines. 

FK


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## billeames (Jan 17, 2014)

In my opinion, International Record Review is better than Gramophone. Fanfare is the best.


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I've been buying one or two month old Gramophone magazines from my CD shop. About 1/2 price and only a month old. But I don't get every issue, only those that look interesting. One week ago, I bought the November issue with Britten on the cover, at half price, a deal I thought, but even $5 was too much, it wasn't very interesting.


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

I used to buy American Record Guide every once in a while, but it's been a long time since I've seen it in stores. I assumed it had gone defunct, but a quick Internet search shows that that's not the case:

http://www.americanrecordguide.com/index.html

I'm not sure if I'm much interested in these magazines that have literally hundreds of reviews of new recordings every issue. They just make me want to buy more CD's than I can possibly afford. It's best if I just stay away from them.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Used to subscribe to the Gramophone in the eighties and early nineties, and it was quite educational when You got to know which reviewers wrote about music that appealed to myself. When the Gramophone went under new management in the mid nineties it went bland and coffee table very fast and when the out manoeuvred former employees and reviewers started " The International Record Review " I went with them and subscribed for a few years and with the advent of mainstream internet in 2000 I ditched all printed media in favour of endless hours in front of the screen..
During this period I also bought the occasional German (Fonoforum), French (Diapason) and US (Fanfare and les frequently ARG) at the news agent, today I still by the occasional BBC Music Magazine, mostly for the Cover CD with sometimes very interesting BBC Recordings, and what ever is available when I'm marooned and stranded at air ports...

/ptr


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I used to subscribe to Stereo Review, High Fidelity, Gramophone and Fanfare.

The only one I still have is Fanfare.


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## jtbell (Oct 4, 2012)

I subscribe to Fanfare, American Record Guide and Gramophone. Sometimes when I'm in a Barnes & Noble bookstore in a nearby city, I pick up a copy of BBC Music, especially if the included CD looks interesting.


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