BBC Music Magazine

[sachs]

When Jonas Kaufmann's German recital was reviewed in November issue, the critic spoke, at the end, about a free bonus DVD in which it was evident the intelligence of the distinguished tenor. Also, gave at the end the British CD serial number. When I ordered the CD, from the UK, I looked for that "bonus DVD" that didn't exist. Short investigation disclosed that the famous bonus DVD came only in the German version called "Sehnsucht". It's obvious that the critic had 'that' CD under his eyes, ears and brain as some sort of innocent privilege. The DVD is, obviously, not a big deal, but I feel that these type of details are not expected from an issue inside BBC Music Magazine. It's a sort of innocent lie. The hell is full of innocent lyers... It's not to punish anybody or to claim; it's just a commentary about something tha I didn't like in its moment. I have not written a letter to the magazine, because I have the bad eperience when I was a subscriber of other British one, that absolutely never published me anything. Cheers to everybody.

[Daniel Jaffe]

Hello Sachs, welcome aboard!

I do apologise for the mistake - it was, as you say, innocent but one I should have caught. Quite often there is the possibility for confusion when we are sent advance copies of recordings accompanied by a promotional DVD - most of them just for press use; as a rule we don't include theese DVDs as part of the disc description or review. In the case of the Kaufmann album, I remember Michael Tanner mentioning that the DVD was in fact available to the German market and asking if he could mention it in the review: my mistake was to fail to make it clear in the published review that the interview DVD was only available there and not in the UK. My apologies for this, though I do think it is nonetheless a superb album – indeed it is now a nomination for our 2010 BBC Music Magazine Awards, so I hope you don't regret having bought it!

All best wishes,

Daniel Jaffé

[sachs]

Dear Daniel,
Nice to meet you through this medium. Many thanks for your so fair answer. Let me ask you something: isn't Decca, actually, a British company? Or German? Because it's very uneasy to understand the difference between Sehnsucht and the other one, I mean as issues available more complete in Germany and not in the UK. As a matter of facts in Germany both albums are available saying most clearly the difference. It's a pitty that, for so far foreigners as I am, German stores' shipping costs are demential. I always order from the uK and get my CD's in five days!!!!!!!!! Friendly cheers and many thanks again.