HATTO WIDOWER ADMITS DECEPTION

The widower of late British pianist JOYCE HATTO has admitted releasing recordings of other artists under his wife's name. WILLIAM BARRINGTON-COUPE produced over 100 CDS under his wife's name and admitted some of the recordings were not made by the pianist in a letter to Swedish record label BIS. Earlier this month (15FEB07), British publication Gramophone reported some of Hatto's so-called works belonged to other artists, including LASZLO SIMON's recording of LISZT's TRANSCENTAL ETUDES. ROBERT VON BAHR, head of BIS Records, says, "Yes he did (acknowledge it), because I was the only one that confronted him in a respectful way. We've had a letter correspondence because he has also stolen music from me." Hatto died in June 2006 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. Some of the dates of Hatto's alleged recordings were questioned because critics claim she would have been too ill at the time to perform such complex tracks. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has now launched a full investigation into Hatto's releases following the Gramophone reports.