A husband admits defeat

There has been a new development in the story of the pianist Joyce Hatto and the recordings passed off as her work. The husband now admits (after a mountain of evidence has been presented against his case) that the recordings passed off as Hattos were indeed those of other “pianists whose sound and style were similar to that of his wife”.

At first (or so he claims) it was only to fill inn the parts where his sick and dying wife were stumbling. And as her sickness progressed, and his skills in integrating the music, the pieces of others recordings grew longer and the original Hatto recording subsequently shorter.

His story is very nice and heart-warming. But is it too little too late? Further investigation into the matter will no doubt shed some light on the case. For now it remains a string of good intentions gone bad; or a cover-up trying to appeal to the good nature of the public. The jury is still out on this one…