Piano Performances Faked

Posted by Sarah Canice Funke Mar 2, 2007

William Barrington-Coupe, the husband of British pianist Joyce Hatto, wanted his wife to be remembered as an overlooked classical music genius. The only problem is that she is being remembered for music she never made: some if not all of the recordings Barrington-Coupe submitted to the BIS Records for release have been faked, passing off the performances of other pianists as the interpretations of Hatto.

BIS Records has released a diplomatic statement that gives the credit for Lizst's Transcendental Etudes where that credit is due.

However, later news stories reveal that the plagiarism might be more widespread than originally suspected, as more recordings are matched with the work of previous artists.

Barrington-Coupe had simply wanted to overdub the sections in which audible groans came through on the recording (Joyce Hatto was extremely ill when she made the recordings), but gradually began to incorporate more and more material from other pianists. Apparently, the iTunes feature which retrieves album information first tipped someone off that the recordings allegedly by Joyce Hatto might in fact be by someone else.

Now the classical music world is buzzing over the repercussions this hoax will bear on Joyce Hatto's memory.