Times past

I have recently been browsing through old copies of BBC Music Magazine. I began subscribing back in September 1995 after purchasing a CD player for the first time

(still going strong). Articles in that issue (Vol. 4 No. 1) included Tuning Up: Surfing on the Musical Internet, where terms like ‘net’, ‘World Wide Web’ and ‘e-mail’ had to be explained in detail, while the ‘Education Special’ was about how to compose music on a PC, using ‘a digital marvel called MIDI’. In news, the Royal Opera ★ouse had just received £55m for redevelopment and Ji í B lohlávek had been appointed principal guest conductor of the BBCSO. Reviews were of CDS, of course, but any videos mentioned I assume were for V★S as I don’t think DVDS had yet arrived (as hadn’t DAB radio). Twenty-three years on and the magazine still carries excellent articles and reviews, but how the world has changed!

Alec Mcgregor, Leicester

The editor replies: On this month’s Contents page, the editorial team all name pieces composed in our birth year. We’ll let you work out how old we all were in 1995…