Let \mathcal {A} denote a central hyperplane arrangement of rank n in affine space \mathbb {K}^n over a field \mathbb {K} of characteristic zero and let l_1,\ldots, l_m\in R≔\mathbb {K}[x_1,\ldots,x_n] denote the linear forms defining the corresponding hyperplanes, along with the corresponding defining polynomial f≔l_1\cdots l_m\in R. The focus of the paper is on the ideal J_f\subset R generated by the partial derivatives of f. We conjecture that J_f is a minimal reduction of the ideal \mathbb {I}\subset R generated by the (m-1)-fold products of distinct forms among l_1,\ldots, l_m. We prove this conjecture for an almost generic \mathcal {A} (i.e., any n-1 among the defining linear forms are linearly independent). In this case we obtain a stronger version of a result by Dimca and Papadima, and we confirm the conjecture unconditionally for n=3. We also conjecture that J_f is an ideal of linear type (i.e., the respective symmetric and Rees algebras coincide). We prove this conjecture for n=3. In the sequel we explain the tight relationship between the two ideals J_f, \mathbb {I}\subset R; in particular, we show that in the generic case (J_f)^{\text {sat}}=\mathbb I. As a consequence, we can provide a simpler proof of a conjectured result of Yuzvinsky, proved by Rose and Terao, on the vanishing of the depth of R/J_f. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]