BBC Music Magazine

BBC Music Magazine is a beautiful example of what magazines should be. It isn't overloaded with advertising, as many Classical music magazines are, and it isn't "hyped-up" with slang and catchy, meaningless words that are supposed to pass for being clever and cute. It isn't full of boring techno-babble or scholarly over-your-head talk. This magazine is simple, elegant, and intelligent. The cost of BBC Music Magazine seems expensive at first, but when its contents are revealed, the price becomes inarguably affordable.

I have chosen to make music (classical, in particular) my profession, so naturally I try to read a lot about the art. However, anyone interested in Classical music knows how difficult it can be to find CURRENT news and articles about the Classical world, especially something worth reading. BBC Music includes relevant advertising, and beautiful photos that nicely break up the monotony of black-and-white text without distracting from the material.

The articles are readable by most people with even a little music theory or history background, and can be used at some level by musicians at any stage. I have used articles and photographs from this magazine for educational purposes in my classroom lesson plans, including a beautiful full-page timeline on the life and times of O. Respighi and a photograph collage of John Tavener. I appreciate the CD reviews, also. They are not only extraordinarily well-written, but they are relevant to my field and representative of a diverse spectrum of musical textures and tastes.

I must be sure not to leave out the dessert of this wonderful feast of a reading: the CD that accompanies every issue. What better way is there to educate about music than by having an example? I was pleasantly surprised the first time I picked up this magazine to find my skepticism about it had been destroyed. I thought, "How good can this be, considering the price, and the frequency of publication?" I expected to find a "sampling" of music with thirty-second excerpts or music by some new, unknown composer who would probably never be heard of again. Instead I found full movements, fully orchestrated by established orchestras, and beautiful music which inspired me to take a trip to the music store in search of more like it.

BBC Music Magazine is the best of its kind, without question.