I was suprised to find in this month's S.F.  Symphony Playbill a half-page
ad for a new magazine, "Classical Music Today".  It's billed as a quarterly
newsletter, "distributed only via US Mail . . .the source for inside
information, celebrity news, who's who, music festivals, trends, concerts
reviews . . .", etc.  Given the general state of CM today, and the
inexorable march of news/reviews media to web-based publication, it seems
like a crazy idea to start up a new paper-based classical music magazine.
I'd think one look at the Ownership & Circulation statement in American
Record Guide alone would be enough to dissuade anyone from such a seemingly
quixotic project.  Yet they evidently have money at their backs, since
Playbill ads can't be cheap.

The editor is billed as Robert Ardini, and the premier issue is to be
published in early 2006.  They have a website, www.classicalmusictoday.com,
which merely duplicates the text of the magazine ad.  Anybody know
anything more about this project?  Have any of our stalwarts been
approached to contribute to it?

Art Scott
Livermore, Cal.