Editors are reshuffled at music magazines
NewsHattie Butterworth, a cellist, has replaced Ash Khandekar as editor of Opera Now.
There’s also a new editor at International Piano and a deputy editor at Gramophone magazine. It’s the same person, yet to be confirmed.
Deckchairs on a sinking craft.
If some of these magazines are ‘sinking craft’ then it looks as though I’m going down with them as I read two of these!!
Yes, it’s surprising how many people do! Norman has been predicting doomsday for large parts of the industry for 30 years now – it’s just what he does.
Not as unconfirmed as readers may think as Tim Parry announced last week on social media that he would be the new deputy editor at Gramophone, also taking over as editor of International Piano. Tim Parry was previously reviews editor at Gramophone, and before that for many years the punctilious and highly knowledgable booklet editor at Hyperion. One appointment still to be announced is that of the new reviews editor at Gramophone to replace TP – still an important appointment for artists who want their recording to be reviewed in print (even if almost no-one buys CDs any more).
Quite. This stuff isn’t exactly secret. And of course Gramophone also reviews DVDs, digital content, books and audio equipment.
Mean spirited stuff Norman. Are you suggesting only opera professionals can edit opera magazines? What, pray tell, qualifies you to write about music professionally?
The days of relying on classical music magazines for information on new cd releases or recommendations are past. At 85 years old, Qobuz curates a regular new releases list for me. I stream any that interest me and add those that please me to my favourites list on Qobuz. Listening to make my selection is on my stereo hifi system which includes a Cambridge Audio streamer. The latter includes access to classical Internet radio stations. There is more to life than BBC r3 and Classic FM.
I’m surprised to learn that Qobuz is 85 years old. ;-))
Seriously, I’m impressed at your flexibility: I’m substantially younger than you, yet I still cling to hardware (CDs and their booklets) in preference to streaming (and its required investment in extra equipment). I particularly miss multiple CD changers in the car, where it was much less time-consuming to set up the specific program (or playlist) I want for a given trip, than now having to search through directories.
I sold my Arcam cd player years ago and with the funds bought my first streamer which also had a FLAC cd ripper. Now I have a Cambridge Audio Streamer which fits nicely with my Rega amp and my B&W speakers. The CA streamer is also an Internet radio receiver. In addition I can download thru the Qobuz app on my smartphone the booklets of the cd’s I choose.
Qobuz is not 85 but I am.
Besides being classical music lover I am a rugby fanatic. I live in the UK but have a fond memory of watching some rugby matches in San Diego in 2016. When I was young I played on the wing.
Cheers
Mr. Dietmann is right to praise streaming for its access to a great variety of music. However, most streaming, and especially streaming from an phone relies on blu tooth which automatically means a data reduced stream with much lower fidelity than a cd. The way to get around this data reduced diet is to listen on headphones with an d/ a converter attached to your phone.
I’m down on data reduced sound as it resembles cardboard sound.
Who would listen to classical music through a smartphone?. A subscription to a hi res streaming service, e.g. Qobuz or Tidal and an upmarket hifi stereo system makes the inconvenience of changing cd’s a thing of the past. At the moment I’m listening to a Boccherini symphony on Qobuz through my stereo hifi system.
Hattie is has also been working at Gramophone for over a year now, having worked at Schott Music before that. She’s also been podcasting since 2020 and advocates for better mental health awareness within the industry – couldn’t think of a better person to be in this role tbh!
To describe her as solely ‘a cellist’ is extremely lazy journalism Norman and leaving out crucial information, intending to provoke hate/criticism of her.
Thank you for the added information, which was not previously in the public domain.
Not in the public domain as in… published on her own website, which is the first result when you search for her name.
https://hattiebutterworth.co.uk/
Basic journalism!
One can think of quite a lot of better people to be in the role, including the last incumbent, who was too expensive, but knew about opera. Or anyone else whose journalistic experience is longer than a year on Gramophone.
But how much does she actually know about opera, what experience did being Gramophone’s editorial assistant bring her that will help in editing a magazine with a diverse freelance team, and how will producing podcasts help her with print journalism, which is an entirely different art. Asking for a friend. Of the magazine’s,
Interesting that no one has given Hattie a chance to edit the magazine before criticising someone you know nothing about. It would make the world a better place by being kind and reserving public comments that are critical in a very personal way.
Tell me again in English.