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The November issue of Gramophone is on sale from November 2; the December issue will be on sale from November 30 (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. © 2012 haymarket consumer. 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
Founded in 1923 by Sir Compton Mackenzie and Christopher Stone as ‘an organ of candid opinion for the numerous possessors of gramophones’
Sir Georg Solti – the making of a master ‘Kubelík has many admirers but they all seem to have different ideas about what made him great,’ says GAVIN DIXON, who writes this month’s Icons. ‘I came up with my own answers but it was quite an adventure. There were many surprises along the way, many moments of extraordinary beauty and many interpretations that were just utterly compelling.’
We explored what makes a conductor great in our October issue, talking to leading maestros about the required mix of inspired and inspiring musicianship, reputation and rapport with players and audiences. One conductor who had all these attributes was Sir Georg Solti, whose centenary falls this autumn. He also had something else: he had recordings. So do most conductors today; but Solti was perhaps the first conductor whose name was made in the studio. This is not to diminish his concert-hall achievements but to recognise that a combination of the new technology of the time, which made recording easier and better, and the greater affordability of records helped make Solti a star. His great Decca Ring cycle has an iconic status above almost all other opera recordings. The label has reissued it this month, remastered and presented in a beautifully produced box-set (complete with a replica Gramophone containing the
‘This is the second time I’ve interviewed Lang Lang,’ says EMMA BAKER, ‘and I found him calm, friendly and collected – a world away from his glittery stage persona. It was particuarly interesting to hear his views on musical interpretation, especially Chopin, whom he cites as his musical hero since childhood.’
MIKE ASHMAN found his research for this month’s cover feature ‘very nostalgic’, having first learnt The Ring from Sir Georg Solti’s iconic set. ‘It was also a reminder that Solti’s continual quest for the new had taken in a massive symphonic repertoire ranging from Bach Passions to late Shostakovich, Tippett and Del Tredici.’
‘Solti was perhaps the first conductor whose name was made in the studio – his Decca Ring has an iconic status above almost all other opera recordings’
Ring-related reviews, articles and advertisements we ran). We have five to give away – turn to the feature to find out more.
Another star, this time of our own era, is the pianist Lang Lang. Recordings have of course played a major role there as well, but so too has engaging stage presence and jaw-dropping virtuoso technique. In the past decade he’s become a unique ambassador for music and music-making (not least in his native China), somehow appealing to the masses without resorting to dumbing down or crossover: Lang Lang is an asset to classical music. We sent Emma Baker to meet him and look back over his remarkable decade.
Meanwhile, this month sees the launch of two features. First, in the magazine we’ve decided to celebrate contemporary composers with a new monthly feature – this month Steve Reich, next month already edition digital our Second, Nørgård. Per
Per Nørgård. Second, our digital edition already offers more than a year’s worth of magazines – and,
and, – magazines of worth year’s a than more offers click can you iPad, or iPhone an on reading you’re if if you’re reading on an iPhone or iPad, you can click disc covers to link through to iTunes, where you can can you where iTunes, to through link to covers disc sample the music you’ve read about. But from from But about. read you’ve music the sample this month it also gives access to our entire archive, from 1923 to today. See page 32 for details – and we hope you enjoy exploring.
FOR THE FULL LIST OF GRAMOPHONE REVIEWERS TURN TO PAGE 39
martin.cullingford@haymarket.com gramophone.co.uk
GRAMOPHONE NOVEMBER 2012 3
