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God help us! Little Miss Prissypants records the Liszt Sonata

76.126.5.126

Posted on February 24, 2015 at 19:32:03
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That would be Angela Hewitt (of complete Bach keyboard works notoriety). And actually, I'm surprised to say that her performances (Liszt Sonata, Liszt Dante Sonata, and the Liszt Petrarch Sonnets) are not that bad. Of course, she's already got her cheer-leading going on at the Gramophone, courtesy of disgraced reviewer (and idiot in chief) Bryce Morrison, who counts this as one of the great recordings of these works - in the Sonata, up there with the likes of Brendel, Gilels, Arrau, et al. Since Brendel, Gilels and Arrau are pretty far down on my list of preferred recordings of this work, maybe Morrison isn't that far from the truth. For me, Hewitt's is a kind of middle-of-the-pack performance, notable chiefly for the beautiful tone quality of her Faz. (I listened to the 24/44.1 download from Hyperion - very quick download without using their download manager BTW!)

So, all in all, it's not bad. But one needs only to turn to the great recordings of the Sonata, such as the ones by Khatia or Pogo (or, in a more conventional interpretation, Nojima) to see what's missing here. Hewitt's octave playing is not bad, but it's certainly not on the level of the risk and daring you hear in Khatia's performance. Those downward octave triplets in the main theme are played pretty well in Hewitt's performance, but they light up the sky in Khatia's performance! Similarly, Hewitt plays the lyrical transformation of the main theme with some evident sensitivity - but to listen to Pogo play that same section is to be in another, higher realm of expression and feeling. There are some minor quibbles I have in Hewitt's renditions of both the Sonata and the Dante Sonata (some sections of minor over-pedalling in the latter), but, as I say, its not bad - just not all that great. Maybe a 3/5.



 

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Okay, I'll bite, posted on February 24, 2015 at 21:18:02
Amphissa
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So far, she has not recorded anything I'm likely to buy. And I realize she is not going to be high on you "babe" rating scale.

But, why do you refer to her as Miss Prissypants?


"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

Have you read her comments about Rachmaninoff? [nt], posted on February 24, 2015 at 23:57:03
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Opinions on Daniil Trifonov…?, posted on February 25, 2015 at 00:41:57
andy evans
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He can generate that kind of spontaneity and intensity for works like this. Opinions?

 

RE: God help us! Little Miss Prissypants records the Liszt Sonata, posted on February 25, 2015 at 03:31:18
fantja
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Thanks! for sharing.

 

RE: God help us! Little Miss Prissypants records the Liszt Sonata, posted on February 25, 2015 at 03:32:08
pbarach
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I haven't heard this Liszt recording, but her Ravel set is fabulous, yes I am including her performance of Gaspard. Also her discs of Bach transcriptions and Debussy.

I've not found her Bach performances interesting or involving.

 

RE: So far I'm liking the Art of Fugue, posted on February 25, 2015 at 06:59:33
Travis
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She uses minimal vibrato.


"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok

 

I've not read her comments about anyone. Should I? [nt], posted on February 25, 2015 at 08:36:32
Amphissa
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.

"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

I've been listening to Hewitt's recording of the Bach, posted on February 25, 2015 at 09:37:31
jult52
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Toccatas on Hyperion, finding it a pretty good recording but lacking tension and emotional oomph or interesting ideas about textures. So it's an ok performance, but not a special one. Then I read the accolades in her bio and experience cognitive dissonance as she is there elevated to the status of the great Bach interpreters.

So I'm happy to read, Chris, that I am not alone in not being wowed. Not that she's bad - not at all - but she seems to be overpraised.

 

Also, please tell us how Bryce Morrison, posted on February 25, 2015 at 09:38:10
jult52
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was disgraced. I am curious.

 

(I'll try to listen to Trifonov soon - thanks for the link!) [nt], posted on February 25, 2015 at 09:38:29
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RE: God help us! Little Miss Prissypants records the Liszt Sonata, posted on February 25, 2015 at 09:39:49
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I keep thinking I'm going to find a used copy of her Ravel - no luck so far.

 

Thanks for the comment - that's my problem with her too [nt], posted on February 25, 2015 at 09:42:34
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RE: Also, please tell us how Bryce Morrison, posted on February 25, 2015 at 09:53:43
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Gramophone fixture Bryce Morrison praised "Joyce Hatto's" recordings of the Mozart piano sonatas, finding them far preferable to Ingrid Haebler's set, when, in fact, they were THE SAME RECORDINGS! Morrison of course tried to weasel out of being caught red handed by saying that the sound quality wasn't the same in the two recordings. The fact that Morrison was not booted out for a mistake of this magnitude speaks volumes about the ethics of this publication. Their slogan: "The World's Best Classical Music Reviews". Yeah right!

 

It would be a waste of your time, posted on February 25, 2015 at 10:12:12
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In an interview in one of the piano magazines, she was very dismissive of Rachmaninoff and rudely contemptuous of his music (mocking the "duh duh-duh duh" rhythm of the endings of some of his concerto movements). Compared to a giant such as Rachmaninoff, Hewitt is nothing more than a little worm.

 

RE: I agree with that astute observation - not even any air vibrato! [nt] ;-), posted on February 25, 2015 at 10:15:27
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RE: air vibrato, posted on February 25, 2015 at 11:42:49
Is that something like air guitar?

 

Very similar! [nt] ;-), posted on February 25, 2015 at 11:57:05
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Okay, got it. But ??, posted on February 25, 2015 at 12:10:44
Amphissa
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Did she criticize his attire?

Babe watchers need to know -- exactly how fancy are her pants? Like, does she wear abstract Lululemons in concert?




"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

RE: Also, please tell us how Bryce Morrison, posted on February 25, 2015 at 12:37:53
Amphissa
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Didn't her husband manipulate recordings of all those performances, altering speeds and changing equalization and such, to try to conceal his ploy? I've never compared the recordings myself. Have you? Do you think you would have been able to listen to Hatto's recording before the fraud was revealed and detect that it was actually someone else's recording that had been manipulated?

I don't think I would be able to do something like that. For example, I've got every commercial recording I can find (and some broadcast recordings as well) of Rachmaninoff's 1st piano sonata. I have a few that I've listened to quite a lot of times over the years. If someone were to introduce a recording that was attributed to a performer, but was in fact a digitally manipulated version of a recording I had already heard many times, would I know it? I just don't know that I would. Especially if the new performer was getting rave reviews for other recordings.

I stopped reading magazine reviews some years before this scandal broke. I have no soft spot in particular for Morrison as a reviewer. But I think I'll give him some slack on this issue, since I might have made the same sort of mistake myself.

"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

RE: Also, please tell us how Bryce Morrison, posted on February 25, 2015 at 13:03:58
jec01
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IIRC, Hatto's husband got sloppy towards the end and stopped the manipulation - he just straight stole the recordings. But I don't recall whether the recording Chris refers to is one that he manipulated or one that he didn't.

Happy listening,

Jim

"The passage of my life is measured out in shirts."
- Brian Eno

 

My understanding is. . . , posted on February 25, 2015 at 13:06:07
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. . . that Hatto's husband, William Barrington-Coupe, did indeed manipulate many of the performances which he issued under her name - but not all. I was following the news of this fraud on the rec.music.classical.recordings group as it happened, and these "Hatto" releases were coming out at such a rate that Barrington-Coupe just didn't have time to manipulate them all. Some of them were just issued straight. And in fact, if such manipulation had been done in the case of the Mozart Sonata recordings by Ingrid Haebler, you can bet that Morrison would have brought that up when he was caught red handed. The guy is still a scum bag in my book.

 

LOL! - Well, OK - She didn't criticize his attire - I'm busted! [nt] ;-), posted on February 25, 2015 at 13:08:53
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RE: Also, please tell us how Bryce Morrison, posted on February 25, 2015 at 13:10:32
IIRC, some were speed manipulated in whole or part, some were not. I believe Ingrid Haebler's Mozart series was not. To me the real scandal was how supposedly professional reviewers could accept without question that a single pianist could record almost the entire standard solo piano repertoire, filling about 110 CDs, in about 13 years, much less one suffering from terminal cancer. The improbable story of her career and the circumstances of these recordings was almost entirely invented by her husband and fed to sympathetic reviewers like Morrison who accepted it without question and presented it to the world.

And even from the small snippets of these CDs I heard, it was pretty clear in many cases that they were recorded with different pianos, in different venues and with different recording setups, all of which contradicted the Hatto back story. It goes to show that if you come up with a story that people want to believe, they will believe it no matter how ridiculous it may be, and that many so-called professional reviewers will just repeat what they read in press releases, and are unwilling and/or unable to listen critically to anything. ;)

 

Morrison, posted on February 25, 2015 at 18:01:42
Amphissa
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I think we (well, maybe not the lawyers among us) have a tendency to believe in the fundamental honesty and integrity of others. At least initially, there was a tendency to accept the basic story about Hatto. Suspicions came later.

Hatto's husband was intentionally deceiving the music community. He is the culprit here. Others were unwittingly caught up in the scheme.

Morrison was very mistaken in his review and in his review of the Hatto recordings. Was he intentionally trying to mislead the buying public? I don't think so.

You know, there have been many cases in history where a person gets caught up in circumstances that, through no fault of his own, ruin his career and legacy. Morrison was duped. He bought into the story and that influenced his thinking. It certainly undermined his credibility with a lot of people.

I suppose I prefer to believe that he was not evil, with ill intent, but just caught in a gambit that snared him. Does that discredit all of his reviews? Well, I don't know. I don't pay much attention to reviews.

But personally, I'm not going to condemn a person because he made a mistake. This mistake did not send investors into bankruptcy or lead to the destruction of lives or hurt anyone else's musical legacy. It may have cost a few people a few bucks that they spent on a CD that they'd probably get more for now, were they to sell it, than they originally paid.

As for the world, I've made mistakes along the way in my profession, as have most people. It's part of life. Perfection is really hard to come by. And as we revisit our decisions and choices, years later, all of us can think of things we might have done differently.

I'm not apologizing for his mistake. I'm just saying that everyone makes mistakes -- well, unless you are Jesus.

I'm not going to be too harsh on Mr. Morrison.


"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

That's all very well, posted on February 25, 2015 at 19:16:44
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And I agree, he didn't kill anyone or contribute to folks losing their life savings. That being said, influential positions such as the one he occupies with the Gramophone presume a certain level of competence. Morrison was under no obligation in his review to make the comparison with Ingrid Haebler's recording - if he had just praised the "Hatto" performances, then I don't think anyone would have a problem with that. But no, he had to pull in the gratuitous reference to the Haebler recordings as a point of comparison, and take a swipe at Haebler in the process. (And BTW, her reputation continues to be far enough below what it deserves as it is!) For Morrison, Haebler was an easy target, and he had no scruples about wielding his power as a critic to take this unprovoked sideswipe.

No, it's not a capital offense, but it's part of the laziness and cavalier relationship with the truth that characterizes much of our corporate media these days. The honorable thing for Morrison to do would have been to resign (if his cronies at the Gramophone weren't inclined to fire him). Instead, the Gramophone pulled a shameful publicity stunt by reporting that its own staff had contributed to the discovery of the Hatto / Barrington-Coupe fraud. There's even a film about it (I think by the BBC - it may be available on Youtube) where a couple of Gramophone editors pat themselves on the back about their contributions to the discovery. And Morrison himself appears in the film as one of the talking heads who insinuates that he was also a hero in helping to expose the fraud. The whole sordid mess on the part of the Gramophone was disgusting.

Nevertheless, I have continued to buy stray issues of the Gramophone since Hatto-gate, mainly because the Gramophone sometimes fulfills its most important mission by providing multi-page pictorial spreads of the new babe musicians as they come off the conveyor belt! ;-)

 

RE: That's all very well, posted on February 25, 2015 at 20:15:12
Amphissa
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"I have continued to buy stray issues of the Gramophone since Hatto-gate, mainly because the Gramophone sometimes fulfills its most important mission by providing multi-page pictorial spreads of the new babe musicians as they come off the conveyor belt!"

Like Miss Prissypants? haha

Okay, you can go on despising Morrison. I'll go on not really much put out by the whole Hatto saga or anyone involved.

As for Ms Haebler, I have her Mozart sonatas. I'm sure they are very good, although I can't say I've listened to most of them. Mozart is not in my queue - like - ever.


"Life without music is a mistake" (Nietzsche)

 

Agree completely, except ..., posted on February 26, 2015 at 05:47:00
Mr. Morrison's laziness and/or incompetence is far from the exception in today's media. IMO, Gramophone was vulnerable to the Hatto scam because it is interested in printing sensational stories in a desperate attempt to stay in existence. It runs color glossy photos of beautiful babes for exactly the same reason. Like Sports Illustrated. No problem. But also, no credibility.

 

I'm afraid I completely disagree, posted on February 26, 2015 at 07:38:27
John N
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I have a good reputation in my field and I publish regularly. I also write review articles in my field of expertise. I could easily imagine making a mistake comparable to the mistake Morrison made (although I hope I haven't!) despite taking as much care as I am able. I have championed points of view and implicitly criticized others. If I have championed someone who committed a fraud that I did not know about, I need to resign? Yes I suppose I could carefully scrutinize every piece of data I discuss in review articles, in which case I would be even further past my deadlines than I am as it is.
The other thing to note is that Mr. Morrison and other reviewers are entertainers. When I buy Gramophone and I do occasionally, I mean to be entertained. Yes they have more power over careers and reputation than they probably should, and one of the reasons is that they are accorded a status that they neither deserve nor need.

 

RE: I'm afraid I completely disagree, posted on February 26, 2015 at 08:19:57
The key statement of your post is, "they are accorded a status that they neither deserve nor need." I agree with that and nearly all of the rest of your post. However, when a reviewer gives a better review to exactly the same recording when the pianist is named Joyce Hatto rather than Ingrid Haebler, that reviewer is being dishonest. It is very easy to be entertaining without being dishonest, and without pretending that what you are writing or saying is something it isn't.
We seem to be reaching the point in our society where we cheerfully accept and even reward dishonesty from journalists. Is it any wonder they respond accordingly?

 

RE: I'm afraid I completely disagree, posted on February 26, 2015 at 08:39:03
John N
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I think your point is very well taken. There are many reviewers in all disciplines (music, stereo reviews, cars, and wine to name just a few arenas) that are subject to such hyperbole that they cannot be taken seriously. This is true not just in criticism but in journalism as well. But I am not sure if journalism was ever not guilty of this.

 

Yes - as Roy says below. . . , posted on February 26, 2015 at 17:07:11
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. . . (and as i tried to make clear in my own post), I don't have a problem with Morrison being wrong (i.e., thinking that it's Joyce Hatto he's reviewing) or making a mistake. Where the problem occurs is for Morrison gratuitously to pull in the Haebler comparison (i.e., the same recording under a different name), and then use the "Hatto" recording to beat down Ingrid Haebler's recording. The whole episode just has the stench of personal amorality.

 

Little Miss No-Pants on the cover... , posted on February 27, 2015 at 07:26:54
oldmkvi
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