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The Influence of Recording and the Record Industry Upon Musical Activity, As Illustrated by the Careers of Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Georg Solti and Sir Simon Rattle

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The Influence of Recording and the Record Industry Upon Musical Activity, As Illustrated by the Careers of Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Georg Solti and Sir Simon Rattle The influence of recording and the record industry upon musical activity, as illustrated by the careers of Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Georg Solti and Sir Simon Rattle. David Patmore, B.A., M.B.A. Thesis submitted to the University of Sheffield in part fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sheffield University Management School University of Sheffield August 2001 Acknowledgements This study would not exist without the initial suggestion of my undertaking doctoral research by Professor Geoff Stone and Professor Anne Tomes, made at the time of the completion of my MBA at the Sheffield University Management School in 1994. I am most grateful for this early support. Further valuable encouragement and advice in the formulation of the research and in the idea of undertaking research into the influence of recording was given by Professor Tomes, working closely with Professors Peter Armstrong and Peter Hill. As a musician Professor Hill gave much advice of central importance at this critical early stage, as well as ongoing support and encouragement that has been greatly appreciated. I am most grateful to the Economic and Social Research Council for generously granting a studentship to allow myself to undertake the study, and to the Sheffield University Management School and Department of Music for being at all times congenial and supportive co-hosts. In the first year of study Professors Armstrong, Hill and Tomes proved to be admirable supervisors. At the beginning of the second year personal and professional changes resulted in the supervisory team being reformed with Dr. Cathy Cassell taking the leadership reigns, and with Professor Peter Hill and Dr. Caroline Oates each as highly effective outriders. Their combined support, encouragement and insight have been invaluable at all times, and were way above the call of duty. The support provided by Dr. Kevin Daniels, Ms Michelle Gleadall, and Ms Lorraine Friendship has also been of the greatest value. Marie and Steve Collier kindly offered valuable professional advice. I would like to thank all those who kindly agreed to act as interviewees as part of the research process. Regrettably they are too numerous to name individually here, but are listed in full at Appendix B. Without exception all kindly provided information of the greatest value and relevance, and tolerated with great patience my excursions into the naïve. During the course of the research I received very valuable additional advice from Professor Jose Bowen, Timothy Day, Professor Cyril Ehrlich, Dr. Raymond Holden and Dr. Robert Philip, for which I am most grateful. By its very nature this type of study is an isolated task. I have been greatly supported by fellow student Richard Garrett, and by Mrs Hilda Betts, who kindly transcribed all the interview data promptly and accurately, and at all times with great good humour. Lastly I would like to say how grateful I am for the support, encouragement and extreme forbearance displayed by all the members of my immediate family, my beloved wife Katie, and my treasured sons Thomas and Matthew. The result is dedicated with humility and thanks to them. Summary The objective of this study is to determine the nature of the influence of recording and the recording industry upon musical activity. Sound recording is a major communications medium of the twentieth century. Yet there has been limited research into the influence of recording and the changes that it has driven. This study seeks to address this gap in understanding. The method chosen for the study was three separate case studies of the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Georg Solti and Sir Simon Rattle. Each of these musicians had a major recording career, and in Rattle’s case continues to do so. The data used in the study was collected from three sources: firstly through interviews with those possessing professional experience of the case-study subjects and of the record industry; secondly from archival documentation; and thirdly through published press interviews and commentaries. The analysis of commonalities and differences between the case study subjects indicated that each was generally in control of their involvement with recording, rather than the reverse. Three areas were identified as being of key importance: the relationship with record companies and with personnel within these; control over repertoire decisions; and mastery of the act of recording. Based on the experience of the three case-study subjects, a model of the influence of recording has been constructed. This relates each stage of the technological development of recording to its immediate consequences and to ‘meta- consequences’, or the more far-reaching influences of recording. The principal ‘meta-consequences’ are seen as being: an increase in knowledge; changes in performance standards; and the introduction of the idea of ethics into recording, with a re-emphasis upon the importance of the musical ‘act’. The study concludes with a discussion of possible future areas of research into the influence of recording and the record industry. Publications and conference presentations arising from this study Patmore, D. (2000). ‘Sir Thomas Beecham, EMI and the formation of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’. Paper presented at the Association of Sound Recording Collections Conference, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S.A., June 3rd 2000. Patmore, D. (2001a). ‘Technology and change: how recording technologies have changed the ways in which music is recorded and confronted’. Paper presented at the British Library / University of Sheffield study day ‘Music and recording: a century of change’, British Library, London, March 24th 2001. Patmore, D. (2001b). ‘EMI, Sir Thomas Beecham and the formation of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’, Association of Recorded Sound Collections Journal, 31, No.1, pp. 11-27. (Revision of Patmore, 2000). Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 46 CHAPTER 4: BEECHAM AND THE RECORDING PROCESS 89 CHAPTER 5: SOLTI AND THE RECORDING PROCESS 138 CHAPTER 6: RATTLE AND THE RECORDING PROCESS 185 CHAPTER 7: A COMPARISON OF THE THREE CASE STUDIES, ON BEECHAM, SOLTI AND RATTLE, TO ESTABLISH COMMONALITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ANALYTICAL PARAMETERS USED IN THESE CASE STUDIES. 230 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS 277 BIBLIOGRAPHY 309 APPENDICES I EXTENDED TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................ 5 2.1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................ 5 2.2. THE HISTORY OF THE RECORD INDUSTRY ................................................................................... 5 2.2.1. Historical overview............................................................................................................. 5 2.2.2. General histories ................................................................................................................ 7 2.2.3. Technical histories.............................................................................................................. 9 2.2.4. Company histories .............................................................................................................. 9 2.2.5. Miscellaneous works......................................................................................................... 12 2.2.6. Conclusion – the history of the record industry................................................................ 13 2.3. THE INFLUENCE OF RECORDING ................................................................................................ 13 2.3.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 13 2.3.2. Theoretical accounts of the influence of recording........................................................... 13 2.3.3. Historical accounts of the influence of recording............................................................. 16 2.3.4. The influence of recording on musical performance ........................................................ 19 2.3.4.1. Recordings as indications of past performance practice............................................................ 19 2.3.4.2. Recordings as performance....................................................................................................... 21 2.3.4.3. The influence of recordings upon performance......................................................................... 22 2.3.4.4. Conclusion – the influence of recording ................................................................................... 23 2.4. THE LITERATURE OF THE THREE CASE STUDIES: BEECHAM, SOLTI, RATTLE.............................. 24 2.4.1. Introdution........................................................................................................................ 24 2.4.2. Sir Thomas Beecham ........................................................................................................ 24 2.4.2.1. Preliminary remarks.................................................................................................................. 24 2.4.2.2. Autobiography .........................................................................................................................
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