Norman Lebrecht quoting Klemperer on the "swindle" of studio recordings reminds me of two stories, both told by the old music critic of the Washington Post, Paul Hume. In the Fifties, some bargain label released (and quickly withdrew) a recording of Beethoven's Fifth symphony with only one introductory "da-da-da-DUM." A pianist (I suspect Paul Badura-Skoda), known for his Mozart, decided to record the Chopin first concerto and hadn't the fingers for it. Apparently, they ended up recording the work practically bar-by-bar. Anyway, during the playback, the pianist turns to the conductor and says, "Pretty good, huh?" To which the conductor replied, "My boy, if only *you* could play like that!" Steve Schwartz