I couldn't resist telling you all how pleased I am with the new edition
of IRR. It seems to go from strength to strength. Among the 'goodies'
this month are:-

Hyperion celebrating 20 years by re-issuing 20 best sellers at mid-price
and Schubert's Winterreise on record as well as some interesting letters
to the editor.  One to catch my eye was from Norman Lebrecht concerning a
review of a Faure biography in a previous issue.  This biography was edited
by NL.  I won't spoil your reading by going into any more detail but, while
not wishing to take sides, I have often wondered how far a review can be
objective.  Any 'facts' (even those are disputed on occasion), can usually
be taken as read but 'opinion' strikes me as being subjective to a large
extent and are quite often disputed.  On the other hand, reading a good
review often makes me want to hear the recording if only to compare it with
ones own version of the same work.  Conversely, I narrowly avoided buying
the Arutiunian trumpet concerto and others on Chandos because of one of
the worst reviews for this company I have ever read.  I had this on my
to order' list but my magazine came through the letter box just in time.

So do people find reviews useful, does it matter if they are not entirely
objective, do we mind some (a lot of!) subjectivity in them and to what
extent do they affect our CD buying habits?

Ray Stamford, Cambridge, England