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The August issue of Gramophone is on sale from July 22; the September issue will be on sale from August 20 (both UK). Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of statements in this magazine but we cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions, or for matters arising from clerical or printers’ errors, or an advertiser not completing his contract. Regarding concert listings, all information is correct at the time of going to press. Letters to the editor requiring a personal reply should be accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope. We have made every effort to secure permission to use copyright material. Where material has been used inadvertently or we have been unable to trace the copyright owner, acknowledgement will be made in a future issue. Printed in England by Wyndeham Heron. ISSN 0017-310X. © 2013, Haymarket Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved North American edition: Gramophone ISSN number 74501X, is published 13 times a year by Haymarket Media Group, Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Teddington TW11 9BE, United Kingdom. The US annual subscription price is $89. Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named Air Business Ltd, c/o Worldnet Shipping Inc, 156-15, 146th Avenue, 2nd Floor, Jamaica, NY 11434, USA. Periodicals postage paid at Jamaica NY 11431. Subscription records are maintained at Haymarket Media Group, Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Teddington TW11 9BE. Air Business Ltd is acting as our mailing agent.
THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS
‘I think Alkan is a shamefully neglected genius,’ laments JEREMY NICHOLAS, whose feature on the enigmatic pianist-composer appears in this issue. ‘If my piece celebrating the bicentenary of his birth persuades a few more pianists to play his music, then I’ll consider it a job well done!’
‘The music of the Eton Choirbook has long figured in my desert island selection,’ says FABRICE FITCH, Gramophone reviewer for almost 20 years and writer of this month’s Collection. ‘A spate of recent discs got me thinking that it was time to take stock of its discography. It’s a niche that deserves to be better known.’
‘Returning to Istanbul is always emotional,’ says HARRIET SMITH who wrote this issue’s first Musical Journey. ‘I spent a year there, warping the minds of the young as an English teacher and proving myself utterly untalented at the ney, the Turkish flute. It’s outwardly more Westernised now – though as I left, the riots started…’
FOR THE LIST OF GRAMOPHONE REVIEWERS TURN TO PAGE 39
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Founded in 1923 by Sir Compton Mackenzie and Christopher Stone as ‘an organ of candid opinion for the numerous possessors of gramophones’
Excellence, Awards… and Alfred Brendel
Appreciation of artistic excellence underpins almost everything we do here at Gramophone, though the past few months have seen our attention specially focused on exactly what that means. Our June issue’s Hall of Fame celebrated the greats from the past (and, in some cases, present) who have transformed classical music recording – there’s a rich archive of articles and videos to explore on our website.
Then in the past few weeks, the process behind the Gramophone Classical Music Awards has swung into action. As I write, our panel of expert critics are listening intently to the recordings in the running for each category – all of which, by this stage of voting, are potential worthy winners and certainly worthy of the time and money of any Gramophone reader. We’ve also,
‘Few musicians have garnered such affection among record buyers as Alfred Brendel, over a career that has encompassed six decades’
after much enjoyable discussion, drawn up our shortlist of 10 artists for this year’s Gramophone Artist of the Year: 10 people whose contribution to musical life over the past 12 months has enriched our world. The ballot is open – see page 9 for more details about who to vote for and how you can do so.
And then there is this month’s cover artist. Few musicians have garnered such affection among record buyers as Alfred Brendel, over a recording career that has encompassed six decades and the core works of the classical pianist’s repertoire many times over. How did this longevity of career, and support from the public, come about? Well, for us, I think the answer is obvious: music-making of exquisite style, skill and intelligence, coupled with a deep devotion to his art. Brendel, however, being the thoughtful and reflective musician we all know him to be, has looked beyond the obvious to explore how his life lived in front of the microphone came about and what making so many recordings means to him – and should mean to us, too. It’s a fascinating article, full of humanity, humility and humour – not dissimilar to the great pianist himself. It’s a privilege to publish it.
martin.cullingford@haymarket.com
GRAMOPHONE AUGUST 2013 3
