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''Opus'' was an American magazine that featured critical reviews of classical music recordings. Based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the magazine ran from November/December 1984 to March/April 1988, publishing 21 issues. James R. Oestreich was its editor-in-chief. Historical Times, Inc., of Harrisburg was its owner. Warren Bertram Syer (1923–2007), who had published High Fidelity for 30 years, was then the president of Historical Times.〔''Enjoy a Tuesday Musical Bonus,'' Seattle Daily Times, pg. D 13, November 1, 1984〕 == History == Music critics depart from ''High Fidelity'' In 1983, most of the senior music critics at ''High Fidelity'' and ''Musical America'' — including Harris Goldsmith (born 1936), (Stanley) Dale Harris (1928–1996), Andrew Porter, Will Crutchfield, Paul Henry Lang, Allan Kozinn, Peter G(raffam) Davis (born 1936), Kenneth (A.) Furie (born 1949), David Peter Hamilton (born 1935), Robert P. Morgan (born 1934), and Conrad L(eon) Osborne (born 1934) — resigned in protest over a reduction of autonomy for their music editor, James Oestreich, who had been informed by the parent that the classical music section was going to be reduced to eight pages by January 1984, and further reduced to one or two pages by December 1984. In 1983, the average issue devoted 18 pages to classical music. On behalf of the parent company, ABC Leisure Magazines of ABC Publishing, William (Bill) Tynan explained that they were going to "blend lengthy classical features into its highly acclaimed ''Musical America''," a slim magazine sewn into the centerfold of selected issues of High Fidelity and available only by subscription. ''Musical America'', at the time, had a circulation of about 20,000 subscribers. ''High Fidelity'' had a circulation of nearly 400,000. Tynan said that ''High Fidelity's'' average reader "no longer prefers the lengthy classical music articles that have appeared as part of the previous format."〔''Music Editor Dismissed'', The New York Times, October 5, 1984〕 Founding of ''Opus'' A year later (1984), many of those critics became the core review staff for a start-up classical record magazine ''Opus'', with ''Jim Oestreich'' as editor. Historical Times, Inc., of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was the parent. Success of ''Opus'' During the planning stage, Warren Bertram Syer, its publisher, designed a five-year business strategy, projecting non-profitability in years one through three, breakeven in year four, and profit in year five. It turned out that Opus became profitable in its fourth year.〔Allan Kozinn, ''Critic's Notebook; Classical Music Magazine As Endangered Species'', The New York Times, April 15, 1991〕 ''Opus'' is acquired by Cowles Media In December 1987, Historical Times – the company that published ''Opus'' – was acquired by larger firm, Cowles Media Company.〔 Cowles Media sells ''Opus'' to ABC Publishing — critical staff resigns, again Despite being marginally profitable, Cowles regarded ''Opus'' as too marginal to maintain.〔 (James Gordon Keough ) (born 1946), who was appointed president of Cowles Media in 1987, made the decision to put Opus up for sale. He said that, while ''Opus'' was ''probably the best-written'' of the company's magazines, it "didn't fit strategically with the rest of our publications." Historical Times had been printing mostly history and outdoor magazines. In December 1987, ''Opus'' had a circulation of 25,000, one-fourth of corporation's next smallest magazine, ''British Heritage''.〔Michael Kimmelman, ''The Tempo Is Changing for Music Magazines, '' The New York Times, December 20, 1987〕 In June 1988, Cowles Media sold ''Opus'' to Capital Cities/ABC — which was still the parent of ''High Fidelity as well as ''Musical America''. The critics and editors of ''Opus,'' including James Oestreich, all of whom had broken away from ''High Fidelity'' in 1983, resigned again. Cessation as a free-standing publication The 21st issue (March/April 1988) was the final free-standing publication of ''Opus.'' Following the acquisition, ''Opus'' was absorbed by ''Musical America'', debuting in its July 1988 issue. Theodore (Ted) W. Libbey, Jr. (born 1951), then the classical music editor of ''High Fidelity'', became senior editor of the new ''Opus'' section. Patricia Reilly, who formerly edited Musical America's ''Recordings in Review,'' became the associate editor of the new ''Opus'' section. Shirley Fleming (1929–2005) continued as editor-in-chief of ''Musical America''.〔Howard Reich , ''Musical Chairs in Publishing'', Chicago Tribune, June 12, 1988〕 The words "incorporating Opus" added to Musical America's masthead was, according to Allan Kozinn, somewhat misleading, given the resignation of its core staff and editors.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Opus (classical record magazine)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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