Voting Station

Joyce Hatto

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Musician

The Resume

    (September 5, 1928-June 29, 2006)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Classical pianist
    Recorded Arnold Bax's 'Symphonic Variations' (1970)
    Retired from public performances (1976)
    Released over 100 recordings on a label run by her husband
    Shortly after her death, an investigation by 'Gramophone' magazine revealed the albums to be pirated copies of other pianists' recordings

Why she might be annoying:

    She gained an undeserved reputation as 'the greatest instrumentalist almost nobody has heard of' and a 'national treasure.'
    Piainist David Owen Norris, whose recording of Elgar's Symphony No. 1 was passed off as her work, said 'I think it's pathetic really that somebody should be reduced to this.'
    The accompanying orchestras, such as the Warsaw Philharmonia, and the conductor, Rene Kohler, credited on her albums did not exist.
    In her rare interviews, she claimed that influential British composers, such as Sir Michael Tippett and Sir Granville Bantock, encouraged her career, but as one writer noted, 'She mentions all the big names, but they are long since dead.'
    A review of one of her concert performances said that she 'had some of the affectations of a great pianist without any of the goods.'
    She said she retired from the stage because she had developed uterine cancer and because a critic, unaware of her illness, had written catty remarks about her appearance; however, no one ever produced a copy of the review in question, and her oncologist said he began treating her in 1992 and that there were no signs of her having had the disease previously.

Why she might not be annoying:

    Conductor Vernon Handley, who worked on her legit Bax recording, said, 'As a solo pianist, she was absolutely marvelous. She had ten wonderful fingers and she could get round anything and also she was an extraordinarily charming person to work with.'
    Some observers suggested that she and her husband began the deception to get back at the musical establishment and critics for not appreciating her talents.
    In several cases, critics who praised 'her' CDs had panned the same recording when it had been released under the actual performer's name.
    After the deception was revealed, her husband said, 'I don't consider I've hurt anybody. A lot of attention has been drawn to forgotten artists.'
    Her story inspired Minh Tran Huy's novel 'The Double Life of Anna Song.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 21 Votes: 80.95% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 86 Votes: 53.49% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying