cbf@allegra.UUCP (Francois) (05/14/84)
Prospective classical CD buyers might find it worth their while to take a
look at past issues of the British magazine Gramophone. If you have access
to a public (or school) library, see if you can track down the March 1983
issue, which is by far the best introduction to the system I've seen in
"layman" magazines (I also get Fanfare, Ovation, Stereo Review, Audio). In
general, Gramophone is the best record review magazine around (though many
prefer Fanfare), and their coverage of the CD for the past year has been
far more extensive than anyone's. Beginning with that March issue, which
contained about 50 reviews of CDs from the initial British launch, they've
regularly reviewed all CDs released in England. Since the CD markets in
the US and the UK are very similar (that's much less so the case with LPs),
Gramophone is equally useful here. A typical review will include comments
on interpretation, performance, sound, and when significant, more prosaic
details such as playing time (they've been badgering the record companies
for longer discs), banding and indexing, packaging, liner notes etc. It
often happens they have already reviewed the LP version of a CD. In those
cases, they will write a shorter review, summarizing past comments on
performance but concentrating on aspects unique to the CD, such as sound.
Of course, they will include a reference to the issue in which the original
LP review appeared, and they will typically compare the disc to existing
rivals. Gramophone is one of those magazines you *never* throw away.
The style of the magazine is unmistakably British, musically conservative,
stuffy but not narrow. Its staff includes some of the most prominent music
critics in Great Britain. It is not an audiophile magazine for Golden Ears
nor is it a newsletter for those who continually bemoan the steady erosion
of performance standards in today's music world. Gramophone is a musically
minded, consumer-oriented magazine for people who like to buy classical
records. Since the magazine's stated editorial policy is to lean on the
side of kindness, its basic philosophy is that most records are o.k., many
are best avoided, a few are excellent, and a very small number are special.
But what is most distinctive about the magazine is its subdued tone. The
contributors don't talk down to their readers or imply that only idiots
would disagree with them. That is in general my main problem with the
otherwise excellent American magazine Fanfare, "The Magazine for the Serious
Record Collector", a sort of Abso!ute Sound of record reviewing. It is
extremely comprehensive, but best appreciated by people who have enough
musical knowledge and assurance not to feel abused by the often abrasive
and dismissive tone of some of Fanfare's highly individual writers, several
of whom are staunchly anti-digital and belong to the school of thought that
considers the vast majority of "commercial" recordings of the last 20 years
completely worthless. Gramophone's atmosphere is not quite so rarefied,
but chances are a strong recommendation from them will not disappoint.
Now, they have their biases, as should be expected. They have their
darlings and their aversions. For example, they tend to favor things
European (specially British): music, performers, record companies, while
they often object to the recorded sound from certain American companies.
But after a while, you learn how to interpret a particular reviewer's
opinions. If anyone is interested, I'd really recommend reading the March
1983 issue to get an idea of what the magazine can be like. Subscription
is about $35 a year. The cost of a couple of CDs.
--
Brahms or Bust! Charles B. Francois {...|decvax}!allegra!cbf