On and Off the Record – a Memoir of Walter Legge by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

On and Off the Record – a Memoir of Walter Legge by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

On and Off the Record – a Memoir of Walter Legge by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

When I started reading this book I wasn’t sure quite what I was reading, as it seemed to start from what others said about him and then ran into a long list of critics he had written.  It took me awhile to get into how it was being presented, but in the end, I found it a really good read and very insightful, as a lot is written by Legge himself, so it does give you a really good impression of who he was and how much he devoted to his life to his work, so it feels more autobiographical.

I really enjoyed it and it’s added a really good understanding to the other biographies I’ve been reading about people and the industry at this time.  I’ve heard good and bad about him, but one thing I do not doubt was his devotion to something he loved very deeply and that was classical music on recordings and elsewhere.  I am sad I did not find out more about him when he was alive and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, as they really were about trying to do the best with what they had and nurturing that.  Something I find really lacking in the modern music industry, especially classically, it seems to be all about the bottom dollar.  I do understand that the industry needs to make money, but Walter Legge managed to do that, but kept to nurturing talent, rather than using it for as long as it serves the gimmicks with which they sell recordings, rather than the true talent of the artists behind those recordings.

Love some quotes from the book:

Walter Legge: ‘I was the Pope of recording.’

Edward Greenfield: ‘In my meeting with him on that occassion he went onto lament that no one in the industry wanted to employ him any longer.  I felt compelled – though it hardly made him feel any happier – to point out an obvious moral: no one employs the Pope.’

Elizabeth’s audition for Legge:  ‘a proper audition – two or three hours. I don’t want you to buy a cat in a sack and regret it, and I don’t want you to offer me less you think I am worth.’