Classic FM Magazine

Classic FM magazine is, as you might imagine, connected to Classic FM, the radio station. Along with BBC Music magazine (produced by he BBC – again, as I’m sure you can tell!) these two titles are the most popular, and most easily available monthly classical music magazines. Class FM always has a goodlooking, glossy cover, with stars of classical music (often female) flatteringly photographed and presented against a white background – not quite Harpers, but very classy nonetheless. The features are not always solely about music. For instance an interview with an artist is quite likely to feature one of their recipes (in Joan ...  Read the complete review

I've only read this one a few times, and I'm in two minds about it. On the one hand it does seem to have a rather high percentage of actual content to ads and other garbage. Whereas some music magazines have only one main feature, such as an interview, padded out with a lot of fake material, Classic FM may have multiple interviews, and an 'in depth' article on some aspect of music. On the other hand, it is aimed at a very low intellectual level. Recently an article was featured on the effects of music on the brain, and, as it happened, I was just reading a lot of research in the same area for an assignment. And reading the Classic FM special, ...  Read the complete review

At a cost of 3.75 (cheaper by subscription), Classic FM is a fairly average classical music magazine, both in terms of content and price. Each issue includes a free CD with movements from various pieces of music, usually based around a mood, country, composer or other subject. The quality of the CD is normally fairly high, and makes up for the fairly shallow level of the magazine's content. Regular features include reviews of releases, interviews and news, plus upcoming programming on the radio station. All in all, the magazine is nothing special, but for someone new to classical music the CDs provide a cheap way to build up a collection. ...  Read the complete review

If you like classical music, then this is a great magazine. It's well presented, colourful and covers a wide range of articles: eg CD reviews; a calendar of events; crosswords; news from the music world; and many features, such as the making of the music for the new film version of Titus Andronicus. You also get at least one free CD/tape with every issue and it only costs £3.75. You can buy it from most newsagents and places like WHSmith or you can subscribe to it. You don't save any money (unless you pay by direct debit, which saves you £5.00), but you get the advantage of it being sent to your house before it's available in the shops. A ...  Read the complete review