Does something look different about us this month? Something the same? That is entirely as it should be. If recordings and live performances of classical music over the decades have taught us anything, it is surely that great works are constantly reinvented for their age. New truths are found in them, different slants – yet, although they may seem to shift, to change, they also remain essentially the same. With music, reinvention is actually confirmation. It’s also true of Gramophone.

So, to start with the new: you’ll notice the elegant yet clear design, which does and yet does not look so different from our most recent incarnation. You’ll enjoy some new features, such as The Trial (where critics advocate the cases for and against an iconic recording; in this issue Mike Ashman and Peter Quantrill argue the relative merits of Karajan’s Parsifal – and you can cast your juror’s vote at www.gramophone.co.uk) and the fascinating Biography of an Instrument. You will find more pages of reviews (this issue, for instance, covers a bumper crop of DVD and Blu‑ray releases). Inevitably, some well-loved features (That Strain Again, The Gramophone Debate) are rested, but they’ll be back at some point. Others have earned a happy retirement.

You have only to glance down the panel of reviewers, however, to see that the most important thing remains the same. We still offer an unrivalled ensemble of the world’s great writers on music, with some impressive new names to join us in coming issues; and, of course, you will still find master musicians giving us their insights in these pages.

So, just like shifting interpretations of the music we review, we change to remain essentially the same – sometimes more so. Take the Editor’s Choice album picks, for instance: now you can hear them not only on our cover CD but also on our website. I hope you enjoy the new Gramophone, just as you always have. Browse our free electronic sampler and see for yourself.


This month marks Gramophone’s 87th birthday. Not a "big" date, but just for fun a leading vocal group has recorded a birthday ditty for our cover disc. So this month’s quiz is to guess who they are!

james.inverne@haymarket.com