Classical music’s prophet of doom has, at last, met his own demise. Spontaneous human combustion is a rare and controversial occurrence, but it has been known to happen even if the exact mechanism remains a mystery. For example in Dickens’ Bleak House, Mr. Krook, a heavy drinker, goes up in flames “engendered in the corrupted humors of the vicious body itself.” Ironically, Lebrecht’s passing occurred just a few days after the publication on La Scena Musicale of the latest in his endless series of “Death of…” articles concerning the state of the classical music industry, in this case lamenting the passing of Universal’s Decca label. While we have no hard evidence of excessive alcohol consumption on Lebrecht’s part, Dickens’ explanation certainly seem plausible and apropos. Anyone familiar both with the character of Krook and the general tenor of Lebrecht’s work will certainly be struck by a certain slimy similarity between the two.
Truth be told, and in case you haven’t already guessed, Lebrecht is still with us as far as I know. That said, the above paragraph hardly contains more fiction than a typical Lebrecht article. His recent eulogy for Decca represents a telling case in point. I’m not surprised, actually, at Lebrecht’s decision to view yet another reorganization at Universal as a death-knell for the label. He’s been doing that for years, so far managing to get it wrong as near to 100% of the time as makes no difference. This time, he reports:
The handful of staff who remain in Decca’s Chiswick offices are waiting for the chop. They expect to be told before the week is out that Decca is history, thanks for the memory.
Well, the week was out shortly after Lebrecht’s article appeared, and Decca is still with us. The reality, as reported by Billboard’s Jen Wilson on February 5, seems rather more mundane:
Decca Music Group has confirmed a “realignment” of its U.K. operation, with part of its roster transferring to Universal Classics & Jazz.
“Decca’s classical crossover and other signings will be assigned to UCJ, the U.K.’s longstanding No. 1 classical labels,” said a Decca statement issued to Billboard.biz by Universal Music Group International. “Decca Label Group in the U.S. is unaffected by this realignment.”
The statement reaffirmed Decca’s position as an “active” label in the U.K., which will continue “signing and recording artists.” The label will continue to operate its London office as a “creative centre.”
There’s nothing new here. Indeed, the only surprising element is that Universal hasn’t folded all of its classical operations into a single unit long ago. Maintaining Philips, DG, Decca, and their various sub-labels has always struck me as inefficient. Even more fascinating, though, is the willingness of credulous readers and industry members to take Lebrecht’s journalistic flights of fancy at face value. What makes this latest work of fiction particularly Krook-like, however, is Lebrecht’s use of Decca’s storied legacy as a goad with which to flog its latest signing, violinist Julia Fischer, whose first Decca production (Bach’s Violin Concertos) has just been released to general critical and popular acclaim:
Decca was also a sound to remember, an uncluttered clarity: home-made, high-tech and unfailingly discreet, a sound that never played ping-pong with your ears. These qualities have long been laid to rest, as the new Fischer dics [sic] all too grimly demonstrates. Fischer’s sound is poorly balanced and over-bright. Any subtlety she may have tried to convey is blown out of all proportion by all-purpose engineering from a freelance team that has no history with Decca. Nor is there much sign of a producer’s intervention. Fischer plays with steely athleticism but not much forethought or refinement. Comparison to the young Anne-Sophie Mutter, equally metallic but infinitely more controlled, puts Fischer firmly in the lower leagues. Decca in its heyday would not have passed this product.
The nonsense contained in this single paragraph is almost too vast to describe. Let us ignore the meaningless first sentence, and go straight to the heart of the matter. As all music lovers know, Julia Fischer has an extensive discography on PentaTone. Lebrecht, refusing to acknowledge the label’s existence by name, merely calls it “a small Dutch outlet.” I don’t think I need to point out the fact that this “small Dutch outlet” has been far busier as a producer of classical recordings than has Decca. It currently boasts a goodly-sized chunk of the Philips back catalog among its list of available releases, and its “freelance team that has no history with Decca” consists of the former engineering division of Philips, which in turn has produced all of Fischer’s previous recordings.
Not only does Lebrecht have no clue when it comes to these basic facts, he’s equally obtuse with respect to the musical performances. Indeed, it’s impossible to listen to the disc and read the above paragraph without coming to the conclusion that the actual sounds that Fischer makes have little or nothing to do with what Lebrecht says about them. It’s quite obvious that he has scant (if any) familiarity with her previous work for the “small Dutch outfit.” He has a point to make, and if taking her down assists him in pissing on Universal, then evidently the ends justify the means. The foolishness of his unfounded assertion that Decca “in its heyday” would never have sanctioned release of Fischer’s disc stands beneath contempt.
I have to confess that when Lebrecht’s article hit I enjoyed a moment of genuine shadenfreude. I thought it was stupid of Fischer to abandon PentaTone in favor of Decca, if only because the “majors” aren’t all that major anymore. As we all know, much of the best and most serious new classical music recordings come from the independent labels, and they release far more titles now than the majors do. Fischer had a great thing going at PentaTone, making major concerto and solo recordings with top-notch ensembles and conductors. So, I thought, it serves her right if Decca tanks after releasing her first disc. But what Lebrecht has done to her here is a disgrace, plain and simple.
As to Lebrecht’s predictions about Decca, remember this sentence: “Fischer’s success is almost certain to be Decca’s last.” The facts will speak for themselves, as they always do, and we can probably count on Lebrecht to ignore them in favor of others of his own invention, as he always does.
— David Hurwitz
