Gramophone launches new digital archive app

A year or so ago we launched our digital issue, with each edition of the magazine available as digital magazine for iPad, desktop or tablet (and in every new issue, disc sleeves now click straight through to iTunes so that you can sample and buy the music).
 
We’ve now taken that principle, and stretched it back over more than 1000 issues, to 1923, creating digital magazines of every single issue of Gramophone and made them available through an app.

Watch our short video introduction to the new Gramophone app and archive.

It’s been a vast undertaking. Magazines, pages and covers which had not been included in our original online archive (which is shortly to be retired) had to be rescanned, and all the text was then fed into a search engine database so that you can search the archive by composer, ensemble, artist – or in fact any keyword. Throughout, we've worked closely with the external company, Exact Editions, which has created the app for us to make it as user-friendly and intuitive to use as possible.
 
The process, months long, was far from just a long logistical task. All those working on it were regularly struck by the sheer breadth and depth of the articles, interviews, reviews, photographs, illustrations and evocative advertisements, covering almost the entire history of classical music recording. It is, we believe, quite unique in digital music publishing. Over the next few days, leading up to the launch on Tuesday, we’ll be publishing some of the most exciting finds to offer as a taster, including:

-     Stravinsky reflecting on his life as a composer, from 1934
-     Rachmaninov writing about the future of the wireless in 1931
-     Sir John Barbirolli looking back over his early life and career in 1936 (written as he was preparing to move to New York)
-     An interview with Michael Tippett from 1971

How to order:
If you are already a print subscriber, you can upgrade your subscription to include the digital magazine and reviews database by joining our Club. To join please call us on one of the following numbers:

Freephone 0800 137 201 (UK only), or +44 (0)1722 716 997 (rest of the world)

New customers have three options:

1. Subscribe to the Gramophone Club which includes the print, digital edition and reviews database for £103 per year. Order online here.
2. Subscribe to the Gramophone Digital Club which includes the digital edition and reviews database for £82 per year. Order online here
3. Subscribe to the digital magazine for £62 per year. Order online here.

We hope our new archive will offer many, many hours of happy, informative and entertaining reading.

Martin
Editor, Gramophone

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