Mr James Jolly, GRAMOPHONE

Dear Sir,

Many new recordings, even if by highly regarded artists, are of works that
are well established in the repertoire and yet Gramophone will still favour
them with a detailed review.  Occasionally, however, a disc comes along
that is of the greatest importance because it provides access to works that
have not been recorded before or are currently out of the catalogue.  In
the case of the new ClassicO release of symphonies by Arthur Butterworth
and Ruth Gipps [CLASSCD274], not only are both premiere recordings but the
composers are also virtually unrepresented in the catalogue.

Here was an opportunity to present not only a review of these works but
also to provide readers with some biographical background to these two
composers.  Michael Stewart's review, although encouraging, could not
achieve anything in the 11 lines allocated.  It reflects very badly on
Gramophone that such a ground-breaking and important disc was relegated
to a mini-review.  It has previously been stated in Gramophone that a
mini-review does not preclude a later major review.  We hope this will
apply in this case.

This disc has been much better served on Classical Music on the Web (UK)
where there can be found extensive biographies of both composers and three
detailed reviews of the disc by Rob Barnett, David Wright and Paul Conway.

Len Mullenger, Rob Barnett and Ian Lace
Music on the Web(UK)
http://come.to.musicweb