Customer Reviews

Inside the Recording Studio: Working with Callas, Rostropovich, Domingo, and the Classical Elite

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Peter Andry's book follows on from similar "insider" books about the classical recording industry by John Culshaw, Suvi Raj Grubb and others. For me it is always interesting to read about the background to famous recordings and to gain some insights into the human side of great performers.

The book's title might lead some buyers astray - there is quite a lot about Callas and Rostropovich, but relatively little about Domingo - and a substantial chapter about Karajan for example, who is very prominently pictured on the cover (with Rostropovich, Richter, Oistrakh and the author). The book is quite short and at times I yearned for more detailed accounts and for more artists to be covered; the discography included in the book is very tantalising. Even so there are signs of padding: the half-chapter on Maxim Vengerov, for example, reads like an artist bio with just a little added about the author's contact with him. Although two co-authors are named, there are still some awkwardly written passages and a couple of bad errors - for example, the statement that Leonard Bernstein's greatest work is his 'Requiem' (presumably this should be 'Mass'). There is a very good selection of photographs but they should have been printed on glossy paper. For these reasons the book could be regarded as somewhat overpriced.

And yet the pluses much outweigh the minuses. Peter Andry was the producer for many of the most famous classical recordings issued by EMI during its golden period of the 1960s and 1970s, recordings which still stand up well today. There are fascinating snippets about Karajan, Klemperer and Giulini and a rather sad account of Callas's latter years, and much more. My favourite story from the book would be the one about the screaming chorister - you will have to read the book to find out!

This is not a book of great revelations or scandals but a very readable and affectionate account of what went on behind the scenes of some of the great classical recordings. Perhaps Peter Andry could be persuaded to write another volume of reminiscences - he surely has enough material for it. In the meantime this one is recommended.

"Inside the Recording Studio" is the diary of record producer Pere Andry in which he tells of making recordings with some of the greats of the mid-1950s onward for the labels Decca and EMI - Lodnon and Angel in the US. As a recording fan myself, I have enjoyed these through the years starting with the memoirs of early producers like Fred Gaisberg and Joe Batten. Peter Andry was responsible for many of the recordings we still enjoy today - and are among the best made and by which others are judged.
He is at his best discussing conductors such as Sir Thomas Beecham and Otto Klemperer. I suppose this is so because these bring a more personal touch rather than just reporting the facts.
Don't get me wrong. The other chapters are fun as well although I must say that the chapter titled "Testament" could well have spent more time telling us about his recording the 1955 Bayreuth Ring in stereo rather than digressing into a history about Decca. His stereo Ring has finally been released on the Testament label - hence the chapter title - and which I aired a couple of years ago.
If I have a quibble or two, one is that the photos are rather poor with no better quality than a newspaper photo. Surely they could have reproduced them on clearly on high quality paper. Another is that Mr. Andry gives Charles Munch's name as "Münch" which I don't think the esteemed French conductor would've liked.
Even so, I can still highly recommend this book, "Inside the Recording Studio" by Peter Andry.