''Musical Opinion'', often abbreviated to ''MO'', is a

European classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

magazine edited and produced in the UK. It is currently among the oldest such periodicals to be still publishing in the UK, having been continuously in publication since 1877. The original title was ''Musical Opinion and Music Trade Review: British, Foreign and Colonial'' (1877–1964). In its first year ''Musical Opinion'' critically reviewed

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

' new Second Symphony, and in 1879 his Violin Concerto. The October 1936 issue carried an interview with

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

and championed the young

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

as Britain's most exciting young composer. In the 1890s it was competitive because it was supported by income from advertising. In 1927, when the editor and proprietor was Arthur W. Fitzsimmons (died 1948), the composer

Havergal Brian William Havergal Brian (29 January 187628 November 1972) was an English composer, librettist, and church organist. He is best known for having composed 32 symphonies—an unusually high number amongst his contemporaries—25 of them ...

became assistant editor of ''Musical Opinion''. He held the post until 1940. This period could be said to have been its heyday: it was then a leading journal in its field, with each issue comprising over 100 large-format pages and a wide range of subject matter (including much contemporary music) being covered by some of the most prominent British writers on music of the time. Regular contributors included

Gerald Abraham Gerald Ernest Heal Abraham, (9 March 1904 – 18 March 1988) was an English musicologist, editor and music critic. He was particularly respected as an authority on Russian music. Early career and author Abraham was born at Newport, Isle of Wig ...

Eric Blom Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954). Earl ...

, Dmitri Calvocoressi, Eaglefield Hull, Alfred Kalmus, Basil Maine and

Percy Scholes Percy Alfred Scholes (pronounced ''skolz''; 24 July 1877 – 31 July 1958) was an English musician, journalist, vegetarianism activist and prolific writer, whose best-known achievement was his compilation of the first edition of the '' Oxford Co ...

. Other frequent contributors include the American composer and organist, Roland Diggle, and the British composer,

Joseph Holbrooke Joseph Charles Holbrooke, sometimes given as Josef Holbrooke, (5 July 18785 August 1958) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Life Early years Joseph Holbrooke was born Joseph Charles Holbrook in Croydon, Surrey. His father, als ...

. In 1921 ''Musical Opinion'' launched a sister magazine, '' The Organ''. Between 1984 and 2009, ''Musical Opinion'' was edited by Denby Richards. As of 2024, the editor is Robert Matthew-Walker (since April 2009), who is also editor of ''The Organ''.Contact Us
''The Organ'' (accessed 23 December 2024) From the time of its first issue (September 1877), ''Musical Opinion'' appeared monthly;Imogen Fellinger, Julie Woodward, Dario Adamo, Silvia Arena, Robert Balchin, André Balog, Georgina Binns, Yael Bitrn, Zdravko Blažeković, Marco Capra, Leandro Donozo, Johan Eeckeloo, Massimo Gentili-Tedeschi, Veslemöy Heintz, Anne Ørbaek Jensen, Masakata Kanazawa, Simon Lancaster, Claus Røllum-Larsen, Lenita W.M. Nogueira, Jill Palmer, Ingrid Schubert, Martie Severt, John Shepard, Pam Thompson, Christopher Walton (2001). Periodicals: List of Periodicals. ''

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

'', Oxford University Press but in the 1990s increasing production and postal costs threatened the magazine's survival. In 1994 ''Musical Opinion'' became a quarterly publication—with regular subscribers being kept up to date with information and reviews in the intervening months by means of 'Supplements' posted to them. In 2000 these supplements were reduced from two per quarter to one. In 2003, ''Musical Opinion'' abandoned the idea of posted 'Supplements' and once more became a straightforward 'newsstand' publication appearing quarterly.

Notes

External links

*{{official, http://www.musicalopinion.com/ Music magazines published in the United Kingdom Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom Classical music magazines Magazines established in 1877 1877 establishments in the United Kingdom