Gramophone Magazine User Reviews

Top reviews

Worse than a PDF

The app is a very basic reader. No functionality beyond what you'd get from a PDF of the issue. Actually less functionality--this app has limited zoom capability and won't even let you highlight or copy text. No single-article view capability. No ability to save individual articles or reviews to come back to. I can get better functionality by underlining and dog-earing the print edition.
Show more

Very disappointing

The magazine is very good but the app does it a great disservice. It has an absolutely horrendous search facilities, poor indexing and I cannot understand why the user interface has such a poor design.

Excellent App

The coverage of recordings, with which one can always disagree, aside, the app itself is excellent. You can search the entire run of Gramophone and, best of all, most reviews link to recordings on Apple Music.

Contact support is very thorough

The problem was quickly resolved by Exact Editions contact support.

I suddenly couldn't read the magazine I subscribed to monthly online.

At first I thought it was the server. Even after changing my password three days later, I still can't log in.

Resolved by contact. ``Succeed'' by exchanging information three times, including screenshots.

The response to problem solving is quick and the advice is of good quality. If there was no Japan-UK time difference, the problem would have been resolved in a shorter time. I am very happy.

Advantages of subscription magazines

Contact support is very thorough

There is text data

Ability to read back issues

Convenient search function
Show more

Beautiful

Beautiful picture-perfect rendition of a top-notch magazine, with a phenomenal archive going back to 1923. The search function is useful and helpful.

Impossible to start sub on App

It appears to be completely impossible to start a subscription to Gramophone on this app. There is no “subscribe” button anywhere. Why is the App available for download if you can’t subscribe from it?

Dreadful Search Engine

I don’t think I’ve ever come across anything with such a chronically dreadful search engine. Try searching Vivaldi Gloria, for instance. Everything you search yields such poor results it is a completely worthless app. It finds nothing you want and everything you don’t. Navigation is also poor failing to remember what you’re looking for. AWFUL.
Show more

December 1940

This issue is missing in your back library, it’s replaced by a repeat of the January 1940 issue.

Perfect companion

With embedded links to Apple Music, this is the perfect companion for perusing reviews and listening.

Appreciated

The app is wonderful (mostly) but I did have an irritating problem where every time I opened it, I got a subscription activated message. Happily, the Exact Editions techies solved that, so it goes back to being a favourite. I’m still learning how best to use search on past numbers.

The leading magazine for classical music

If you are looking for Gramophone in a digital, online version, then this is the app to get. I switched a couple of years ago and would not want to miss this app.
If you don't know Gramophone and are looking for a magazine about classical music - voilà, this is one of the leading publications in this genre, if not the best you can get. The scope is global, and they are serious about every recording, good or bad. The support is fast, polite and, most importantly, really helpful. This is a strong recommendation for Gramophone from Germany.
Show more

Subscription

Be aware that if you have a subscription through iTunes and cancel, you lose every every magazine you purchased. Given the cost of a subscription (around 120 dollars annually) that is very disappointing.

Zero stars - Terrible

Almost impossible to renew successfully if you have a subscription to The Gramophone itself rather via ITunes.
Firstly you can ONLY renew by post or telephone - yes really.
Secondly you cannot regain access to your content without ringing them up another time, second call to get access to review database.
Now, I can’t get access to the magazine, email and password not recognised even though they are saved in Safari, and I’ve checked they are correct.
No way to contact the them via the app not even a reset password link.
Shoddy. 1990s programming and it’s not cheap. Utter rubbish
Show more

Good alternative to printed edition

This has the full contents of the printed magazine and is to be recommended. In addition, on the Mac version (not iPad) there is a text only version of each page underneath the original, good for looking at in other apps once exported or for further study. Only 4 stars because there needs to be better navigation and links to other websites else no complaints and it saves on paper too.
Show more

Annoying sound

Works fine apart from occasionally sounding a loud alert at random. It doesn’t seem possible to turn this off.

Missing critical search features

Great magazine but the app has two major issues:

1. There is no function associated with easily accessing their review archive. Shouldn’t this be provided with a subscription?

2. The search function provided is so limited in functionality that it can’t possibly be used to effectively search for anything.

Fix these two issues and it’s five star app for me.
Show more

Still trying....

...to find a way to purchase individual back numbers, as you can on every other magazine app. Tried this one on two iPads without success. Very curious. What’s the point of the app if you can’t use it to buy editions you want?

(Still) Not working under iOS 11.3

As it says in the title

Initial problem solved after an email

Having found it difficult to find specific reviews, I then decided to email for help, and having received suitable guidance, I am now able to find past reviews. One slight criticism might be that typing in specific information results in not only accessing the relevant reviews, but also past advertisements.
Show more

Great mag, poor app

AFAIK it doesn't even allow text size to be modified, so essentially you're left to struggle with large images of a small-font magazine page that you read in the manner of examining a large photo in sections at a time. Any newspaper app allows more readability than this. Cp. The New Yorker app. Very frustrating.
Show more