Customer Reviews

International Record Review

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I would endorse everything that is said by below by J Scott Morrison. "International Record Review", while obviously based on "Gramophone" magazine (it shares the general format and some of the same reviewers), has addressed most of "Gramophone"'s egregious faults.

1. There is far more space devoted to actual reviews of classical recordings (the primary purpose of both magazines), and far more CDs actually get reviewed.

2. Reviewers are not exclusively U.K.-based

3. The choice of recordings to review sems less constrained by advertising considerations.

4. More reviews of reissues of historical recordings.

5. No section on audio equipment (Gramophone's paltry and inadequate audio equipment reviews are obviously inserted to get advertising dollars from audio manufacturers) -- a subject which demands and deserves its own periodical.

All in all, this is probably your best bet if you want to subscribe to a classical music magazine

This glossy British classical music magazine that focuses primarily on recordings was founded in 2000 by, I believe, some disgruntled former 'Gramophone' writers. The staff of writers include such well-known reviewers as Martin Anderson, Hugh Canning, Jed Distler, Mortimer H. Frank, Harris Goldsmith, Julian Haylock, Simon Heighes, Robert Layton, Donald Manildi, Andrew Porter, Charles Timbrell, Raymond S. Tuttle, John Warrack and others. As you can see, the writers primarily come from England but there are far more American reviewers than write for 'Gramophone,' giving it a bit more trans-Atlantic balance than the older magazine. It is, as they say, 'for those who know their music but who are prepared to be further enlightened, appreciate good sound-reproduction, without the need for gimmicks and who want up-to-date, authoritative comment on the vast number of new and historical classical recordings being released worldwide.' There are monthly review sections for orchestral, chamber, instrumental, choral, vocal and opera CDs as well as for DVDs and books. Issues also contain

- A frank, topical and pertinent editorial
- An extensive and detailed Index to the reviews
- Letters to the Editor
- A list of new international releases
- News pages and obituaries
- Special extensive features on major repertoire (with exhaustive comparisons of extant recordings)
- A Directory of record company websites

There are no sections dealing with sound reproduction or new electronic gadgets. One plus is that there is a good deal of attention paid to historical recordings. For instance, in a recent issue there was an extensive section about historical opera re-issues.

The writing is generally both graceful and informed. It is rare that I don't learn a good deal from an issue, and I tend to read every word of every article. The only drawback for American subscribers (and the reason I've awarded only 4 stars) is that, with the currently disadvantageous exchange rate for the US dollar against the British pound, it is a bit expensive. I, however, would not like to be without it.

I hope this description helps prospective subscribers decide whether this is their cup of tea.

Scott Morrison