Inside the Recording Studio

As a record producer and administrator, Peter Andry has worked with many of the 20th century’s greatest classical music artists and performers. Through his work with Decca, his years as president of EMI Classics, and his creation and direction of Warner Classics, he has collaborated with high-caliber artists such as Maria Callas, Yehudi Menuhin, and Herbert von Karajan. He associated with them in close quarters through times of work, play, stress, and relaxation. He has admired their talent, dedication, and charisma, as well as coped with their foibles, idiosyncrasies, and egos.

In Inside the Recording Studio: Working with Callas, Rostropovich, Domingo, and the Classical Elite, Andry recounts his experiences with these exceptional talents, with whom he worked as a musician, a record producer, and a company executive. Andry presents intimate portraits of brilliant artists—such as Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer, Sir Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich, Jacqueline du Pré, and Maxim Vengerov—juxtaposed with the dramatic changes occurring in the recording business during this time, a period that began with 78s and saw successively the advent of LPs, stereo sound, quadraphonic sound, audio cassettes, video, CDs, DVDs, and the growing importance of the internet. A foreword by Plácido Domingo and more than 30 photos of the artists are included along with a discography of Andry’s recordings with the three labels. These memoirs will be fascinating and exciting to anyone interested in the classical music and recording industries.

Author Biography

Peter Andry, now retired, was a record producer for Decca and EMI. After serving as president of EMI Classics, he left to create Warner Classics. He has written for various magazines including Gramophone and Classical Music.

Robin Stringer is a journalist for The Daily Telegraph, the Evening Standard, and numerous arts magazines, including Gramophone and Classical Music.

Tony Locantro works for EMI in a variety of roles, most recently producing best-selling classical compilations. He has written many CD booklet notes and collaborated with Peter Martland on the authoritative EMI history, Since Records Began: EMI: The First 100 Years (1997).