Musical America is the oldest American magazine on classical music. Presently it is a website (musicalamerica.com) with a weekly online magazine

Online magazine

An online magazine shares some features with a blog and also with online newspapers, but can usually be distinguished by its approach to editorial control...

. It is currently published by UBM Global Trade

UBM Global Trade

UBM Global Trade is a leading information provider to the global trade, transportation and travel market with comprehensive proprietary data, news and analytical content. Its brands include The Journal of Commerce, PIERS: The Port Import/Export Reporting Service and a number of directory databases...

.

History

Musical America's first issue was on October 8, 1898. Its founder was John Christian Freund (1848–1924), who with Milton Weil, also founded Music Trades in 1893. Thirty-six issues appeared until June 24, 1899, covering music, drama, and the arts. In 1899 the publication was discontinued for six years due to a lack of financial resources. It reappeared as a weekly from November 18, 1905 until 1929, solely focusing on classical music. In 1921 Musical America published the first "Guide", that later evolved into the International Directory of the Performing Arts, now the Musical America Directory.

After John Freund passed away in 1924, Milton Well who had been Freund's business partner continued the publication. In 1926 Trade Publications Corporation took over Musical America. The publication diversified with articles about jazz, dance, radio, and records. It filed for bankruptcy in 1929, after which Weil's former assistant John Majeski bought the magazine. After some 30 years of relative stability, it was sold to staff member Theodate Johnson (1907–2002), sister of the architect, Philip Johnson

Philip Johnson

Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...

. The publication was then owned by High Fidelity, Billboard, Capital Cities/ABC, Gerry M. Ritterman, Primedia Information, and Commonwealth Business Media. During these years it was published in various formats. Shirley Fleming

Shirley Fleming

Shirley Fleming was an American music critic and editor. Born in New York City, she was the daughter of novelist Berry Fleming who enjoyed popularity during the 1930s and 1940s with a series of successful works, and later in the 1980s with his Captain Bennett's Folly. Shirley grew up in Augusta,...

served as the magazine's editor from 1967-1991.

MusicalAmerica.com was launched in December 1998. It publishes some 30 news stories per week. Since April 2004, it also has a weekly newsletter.