Joyce Hatto - a Whodunit . with audio sample

Make that, a "Whoplayedit"!  The usually sedate classical music recording world has been rocked this week by what appears to be a hoax of rather unbelievable proportions but with no understandable motive.  The recently discovered and lionized Joyce Hatto had an output of 100+ recordings which included full sets of piano music by almost every well-known composer and playing of consistently high caliber. "How was that possible?" ...

Apparently it wasn't, in this case.   My own site has carried since late 2002 the brief excerpt of the Liszt Mephisto Waltz, first heard in a forum listening group, that started the buzz among classical piano aficionados.  I've updated the page to include the recent news articles and editorials along with the older articles I link to there.  I was an admirer of "Hatto"'s pianism.

 Gramophone's editor, James Inverne, told The Telegraph that it is "just the most amazing scandal in the polite world of classical music."  That's definitely a polite statement.

    The mystery and detective work includes determining the identities of the pianists whose performances were rightfully praised and the reasoning behind the deceptions.  One possible scenario voiced in several forums is that Hatto recorded in the studio while battling cancer but did not hear what was sent out in the final versions -- the project focus, by her husband of 30+ years, was to provide motivation and will.  That's of course a HUGE stretch though.      More here ...