Joyce Hatto

Joyce Hatto (September 5 1928 – June 30, 2006) was a British pianist and piano teacher, whose performing career spanned some twenty-five years, coming to an end in the mid-1970s. Late in her life, recordings released under her name won considerable critical acclaim, but after her death it was discovered that many of these recordings were taken from CDs recorded by other performers.

Career

She was alleged to have studied with Serge Krish and to have received guidance from Alfred Cortot, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Clara Haskil and others, and also to have studied composition with Paul Hindemith, Nadia Boulanger and Matyas Seiber. She is known to have given some concerts in London from the 1950s onwards; there were also concerts by 'pupils of Joyce Hatto'. Allegedly due to a battle with cancer, she ceased performing publicly in the 1970s, with only a few recordings to her credit, none of them for a major label.

However, in her last years, more than 100 recordings attributed to her appeared. They were released by the English label Concert Artist Records, run by her husband W. H. Barrington-Coupe, a convicted criminal who served eight months in jail in 1966 for tax evasion. The repertoire released by Concert Artist under Joyce Hatto's name included the complete sonatas by Beethoven, Mozart and Prokofiev, the concertos of Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Mendelssohn, and most of Chopin's compositions, besides rarer works such as the complete Godowsky Chopin Studies. Many of those recordings were widely praised, and on their basis, she was once described as "the greatest living pianist that almost no one has ever heard of."

Critical praise and Internet following

As early as 2003, Hatto's recordings started being mentioned on the Internet in various "groups": rec.music.classical.recordings (RMCR), a Usenet group, and the two Yahoo groups dedicated to the art of piano playing, Great_Pianists and Pianophiles, and possibly others. Soon, a small group of participants in these forums as well as music critics around the world joined in praise of Hatto's recordings, among them Alan M. Watkins, of Prague, Czech Republic ; Tom Deacon, the producer of the Great Pianists of The Century series and other classical recordings for Philips; Ernst Lumpe, the producer of the late Sergio Fiorentino's last recordings; Ates Orga, a well known music critic; Jeremy Nicholas, author of the definitive biography of the legendary Leopold Godowsky; Bryce Morrison of The Gramophone; Andrys Basten, the moderator of Great_Pianists; Donald Manildi, curator of the International Piano Archive at College Park Maryland; Farhan Malik, commentator on recorded music and moderator of Pianophiles; Gregor Benko, formerly director of the International Piano Library and Archive; and concert pianist Ivan Davis. Peter Lemken, once a concert manager in Germany, was sceptical about Joyce Hatto on the forum RMCR. He was particularly curious about the identity and even the existence of one René Köhler, who was listed as the conductor of Joyce Hatto's many concerto recordings with orchestra. After investigating some of Köhler's background, Mr. Lemken contacted William Barrington-Coupe by mail but never was able to follow up on his suspicions. So, the subject went stale and uninvestigated.

Eventually, publications such as Gramophone, MusicWeb and Classics Today, as well as newspapers such as the Boston Globe, discovered Hatto and reviewed her recordings and published lengthy interviews and appreciations of her career. A radio interview with Joyce Hatto even surfaced from New Zealand in which the pianist commented in detail on her various recordings and musical concepts in the most disarming fashion. The critical consensus seemed to be that this woman in her seventies, who had suffered from cancer for many years and who had been largely overlooked by the musical press during the height of her concert career (1950-1975), was an outstanding pianist whose performances of a wide variety of pianistic repertoire equalled if not surpassed those of many other famous pianists. She had studied, supposedly, with Alfred Cortot, Sviatoslav Richter, Benno Moiseiwitsch, among many others. However, as the quantity of her recorded output began to assume gargantuan proportions - there was even a "complete" Haydn sonata cycle supposedly in the can - doubts began to surface in major publications such as Gramophone about the veracity of her recorded output, but no proof was forthcoming until Gramophone published their findings on the Gramophone internet website on February 18, 2007.

Recordings unmasked

In February 2007, after a large number of Hatto disks had been issued, it emerged that the CDs ascribed to her contained copies, in some cases digitally manipulated (stretched or shrunk in time, re-equalised and rebalanced), of published commercial recordings made by other artists, some well-known, others less so. When Brian Ventura put Hatto's recording of Liszt's 12 "Transcendental Études" into his computer, the iTunes software identified the disc not as Hatto's recording but as one by László Simon. (iTunes uses the Gracenote CD Database to identify discs, after creating a disc ID from the number and length of tracks on the disc. Gracenote did not identify this disc as being the original Bis CD, but rather a Concert Artists CD, whose record in the database lists Simon as the performer. This suggests that someone who suspected or knew the true origins of the recording added the info; iTunes does not use Gracenote's acoustic recognition, and, even if it did, would not have identified the entire CD as by one performer when he only played ten of the twelve tracks.)^{[reference needed]}

He then contacted Jed Distler, a critic for the magazine, The Gramophone, who had praised many of Hatto's recordings. An analysis was then carried out by the specialist audio restoration business Pristine Audio., which had been asked to investigate by the magazine. This confirmed that misattribution had occurred. Independent confirmation was released shortly afterwards by The AHRC Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music (CHARM), Royal Holloway, University of London, and soon many of the recordings released under Hatto's name had been traced back to their sources, though the track timings and total disc timings provided by the label are nearly always wrong, making the task of identification more difficult than it might have been.

The conductors whose work is represented on the concerto recordings credited to Hatto and René Köhler are now known to include André Previn and Bernard Haitink, while the orchestras, claimed to be the National Philharmonic-Symphony and the Warsaw Philharmonia, are now known to include the Vienna Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic. Though Barrington-Coupe provided a detailed biography for Köhler, it has been conjectured that the name is an invention inspired by that of the concert pianist Irene Kohler (1912-96).

Barrington-Coupe has denied any wrongdoing and has said he will ask his own sound engineer to compare the recordings. He has however agreed to stop selling the CDs.

Meanwhile the British Phonographic Industry [BPI] has begun an investigation. If the allegations are true, it would be one of the most extraordinary cases of copyright infringement the record industry had ever seen, according to a BPI spokesman . Pristine Audio, which has performed the most extensive and detailed audiographic analysis of Hatto's discs to date, has stated that they "have yet to investigate a Hatto recording that has not proved to be a hoax" and that their analysis "seems to offer the final proof of what may turn out to be the greatest recording hoax ever perpetrated on the music-loving public".

Recordings and their sources

Here is a list of some of the performances attributed to Hatto whose sources have so far been discovered (sorted by Concert Artist catalogue number):

Recording	Sources
CACD20012 -- Chopin Mazurkas	Eugen Indjic's 1988 performances released on the Claves label and re-released on Calliope 3321 in 2005. The number of mazurkas on both CD sets is the same, but the ordering of the mazurkas is different. The CACD20012 release has added filtering, and the speeds of each performance pair vary slightly in the range of a few percent (+1.2%, -2.8%, and -0.7% for three sample mazurkas).
CACD20022 -- Godowsky Studies on Chopin Etudes	Tracks 1 and 14 are from the recording by Ian Hobson on Arabesque Z6537. Track 1 is sped up by 7.837%. Tracks 2, 4-13, 16, 18, 22, and 23 are from the recording by Carlo Grante on Altarus. Tracks 3, 15, 17, 19-21, and 24-7 are from Marc-André Hamelin's recording on Hyperion. The second volume of the Hatto Godowsky CD set has yet to be investigated.
CACD20032 -- Messiaen Vingt regards sur l'enfant-Jésus.	A copy of a performance by Paul Kim, recorded for Centaur at the Patrych Sound Studios, New York City, in January 2002, time stretched by 2.4%.
CACD20042 -- Ravel Complete Piano Music.	Found to be a copy of a CD release by Roger Muraro on the Accord label (Universal Classics France), recorded in May, 2003.
CACD80002 -- Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, Two Rhapsodies, Op.79 & Rhapsody Op.119 No. 4.	PC 1 copied from a performance by Horacio Gutiérrez with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andre Previn on the Telarc label.
CACD80012 -- Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, Klavierstücke Op.118.	PC 2 copied from a performance by Vladimir Ashkenazy with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Bernard Haitink on Decca.
CACD80102 -- Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 30-32	Taken from the recording by John O'Conor on Telarc CD80261
CACD90522 -- Mozart Piano Sonatas, K.284, K.309, K.310	At least K.284 copied from the set by Ingrid Haebler on Denon (CO-79399 for this CD).
CACD90682 -- Bach Goldberg Variations.	At least in part a copy of a performance by Chen Pi-hsien available on Naxos. The Theme and first five variations have been compared side to side and are confirmed matches.
CACD90842 -- Liszt Transcendental Studies.	Found to be a copy of performances by László Simon (released by BIS Records) and by Minoru Nojima. Ten of the twelve studies were Simon's performances; the other two were copied from Nojima.
CACD90852 -- Saint-Säens Piano Concerto No. 2	appears to be the performance of Jean-Philippe Collard, accompanied by conductor Andre Previn, on EMI.
CACD91112 -- Liszt Operatic Transcriptions: The Italian Opera, vol 2.	Derived from two CDs (Hungaroton HCD 31547 and HCD 31299) performed by Endre Hegedűs. See also CACD91332
CACD91202 -- Albeniz Iberia.	At least in part a copy of a performance by Jean-Francois Heisser on Erato.
CACD91212, 91222, 91232, 91242 -- Prokofiev Piano Works	Taken from the set recorded by Oleg Marshev on the Danacord label.
CACD91272 -- Rachmaninov Preludes	Some are copied from John Browning's performances on Delos: Op. 23 No. 4 in D Major, Op. 32 No. 5 in G Major, op. 32 No. 12 in G sharp minor, and op. 32 No. 13 in D flat Major are confirmed matches.
CACD 91302 -- Debussy Preludes	At least in part copied from Izumi Tateno's recording on Canyon Classics PCCL 00122: The entire Book 1 plus Feux d'artifice from Book 2 are confirmed matches. The remaining preludes have not yet been compared side to side.
CACD 91312 -- Debussy, the complete piano works, Vol. 2.	Arabesque I is by Pascal Rogé (Decca). Hommage a Haydn is by François-Joël Thiollier (Naxos). The etudes are by François-Joël Thiollier (Naxos), with serious speed distortion in some of them.
CACD 91332 -- Liszt, Operatic Paraphrase & Transcriptions, Vol.1	Track 3, Aida Coro di festa e marcia funebre, is from Giovanni Bellucci's recording on Assai, 222172. (This track is also used as track 6 of CACD 91112, Liszt Operatic Paraphrase & Transcriptions Vol. 3.)
CACD 91342 -- Beethoven Symphonies transcribed by Liszt vol. 1.	Tracks 1-5: Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral' from Konstantin Scherbakov's recording on Naxos 8.557170 (Liszt Complete Piano Music Vol.19), with slight time stretching.
CACD91682 -- An Anthology of Recital Encores, Vol. 1.	Suspected to be from a set of CDs released in the early 1990's on the Naxos label.
CACD91692 -- An Anthology of Recital Encores.	Tracks 4, Schubert-Godowsky Rosamunde, and 10, Albeniz-Godowsky Tango, are taken from CBC MVCD1026 (pianist: Marc-André Hamelin). Track 8, Rubinstein Scherzo, is taken from Josef Banowetz's recording on Marco Polo 8-223176. Track 9, Busoni Kammer-Fantasie über Carmen, is taken from Russian Disc RDCD 10026 (pianist: Leonid Kuzmin). Track 11, Sinding Rustle of Spring is taken from Hyperion CDA 67379 (pianist: Philip Martin). Track 12, Rossini-Liszt La Danza, is taken from EMI (France) 7243-5-55382-2-2 (pianist: François-René Duchable).
CACD91792 -- Rachmaninov The Transcriptions.	Tracks 1-14 are taken from Harmonia Mundi (Saison Russe) RUS 288 122 performed by Alexander Guindin. (see also CACD92172 entry)
CACD92172 -- Rachmaninov Piano Concertos.	Found to be a copy of performances by Yefim Bronfman, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen released by Sony. Coupled with Six moments musicaux Op.16, from Alexander Guindin's performance on Harmonia Mundi (Saison Russe) RUS 288 122.
CACD92432 -- Chopin Etudes.	At least some of these are copies of performances by Yuki Matsuzawa on the Novalis label.
CACD92742 -- Dukas complete piano music.	Taken from SIMAX PSC1177 performed by Tor Espen Aspaas. One track on the CD, "Pour le tombeau de Paul Dukas" by Falla, is taken from Miguel Baselga's recording on BIS CD 773 (reduced slightly in speed).

Early discography

The recent release of Arnold Bax's Symphonic Variations in E Major (CACD90212), issued by the Concert Artist label, may be a reissue of Hatto's 1970 recording with the Guildford Philharmonic conducted by Vernon Handley, originally issued on Barrington-Coupe's Revolution label.

Hatto's authentic recordings were never widespread, and as far as can be ascertained at this point, the above mentioned work of Bax was the last to appear on LP in 1970. In the eighties there were some more works released on tape cassettes (Grieg Piano Concerto, Liszt 2 Piano Concertos, Rigoletto Paraphrase, Miserere del Trovatore, Totentanz for piano solo, Seven Hungarian Historical Portraits). The solo piano repertoire of these releases shows works Hatto played also at that period in London on various occasions at Royal Festival Hall and other venues.

Her early releases include:

• Concert Artist 7-inch EPs:
  • Walter Gaze Cooper Piano Concerto #3
  • Elspeth Rhys-Williams, 4 Impressions, 2 Songs
  • Michael Williams Introduction & Allegro for piano & orchestra
• Saga:
  • "Music for the Films" (Addinsell, Bath, Chas. Williams) w/London Variety Theatre Orchestra/Gilbert Vinter
  • Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue w/Hamburg Pro Musica/George Byrd
  • Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2 w/Hamburg Pro Musica/George Hurst
  • Chopin Sonatas #1 & 3
  • Chopin Minor Piano works (Albumblatt, Fugue etc.)
• Delta:
  • Mozart Piano Concertos K. 466 & 488 w/Pasdeloup Orchestra/Isaie Disenhaus
  • Mozart Piano Concerto K. 453, Rondo K. 382 w/London Classic Players/David Littaur
• Fidelio:
  • Lecuona assorted piano pieces
  • Gershwin 16 items from the "Song Book"
• Revolution:
  • Bax Piano Sonata #1, Piano Sonata #4, Toccata, Water Music
  • Bax Symphonic Variations in E w/Guildford Philharmonic/Vernon Handley

External links

• International Herald Tribune: "The Joyce Hatto Scandal," published February 25, 2007
• Daily Mail: "Revenge of the fraudster pianist," published February 24, 2007
• The Telegraph: " CD scandal husband tells of criminal past," published February 24, 2007
• "Joyce Hatto – some thoughts, some questions and a lot of letters," by Christopher Howell, published February 21, 2007
• The Telegraph: " My wife's virtuoso recordings are genuine," published February 20, 2007
• "Will the Real Joyce Hatto Please Stand Up" by David Hurwitz, published February 18, 2007
• Gramophone: "Masterpieces or Fakes? The Joyce Hatto Scandal," published February 15, 2007
• "Joyce Hatto - The Ultimate Recording Hoax" on PristineClassical.com, released February 15, 2007
• CHARM: "Purely coincidental? Joyce Hatto and Chopin's Mazurkas," released February 16, 2007
• International Herald Tribune: "Questions arise over recordings by pianist Joyce Hatto," published February 16, 2007
• Times Online: "Piano ‘genius’ is branded a fake," published February 17, 2007
• The Telegraph: "Pianist's virtuosity is called into question," published February 17, 2007
• New York Times: "A Pianist’s Recordings Draw Praise, but Were They All Hers?," published February 17, 2007
• Boston Globe "Joyce Hatto, at 77; pianist was prolific recording artist" published July 4 2006, retrieved July 10, 2006
• Joyce Hatto by Ates Orga Part 1
• Joyce Hatto by Ates Orga Part 2
• Joyce Hatto - A Pianist of Extraordinary Personality and Promise
• Joyce Hatto, English pianist, dies aged 77
• iTunes fingers musical fraud
• "New Zealand radio feature with an interview with Joyce Hatto 2006
• "Murray Khouri : Hatto Recordings Counterfeit? on New Zealand Radio, Monday 19 Feb 2007"
• "Hatto articles-reference page plus mp3 that started the interest in Jan. 2003"