The Daily Telegraph’s obituary of Peter Andry was not so much flawed as riddled with avoidable errors.
It asserted, among other nonsense, that Herbert von Karajan was exclusive to DG; in fact, he was always shared with Decca, RCA or EMI.
It claimed that Peter recorded Gorecki’s third symphony; idiotic – that was Nonesuch, over which he had no control. It reported that he took over all of EMI’s classical interests after Legge’s departure; actually several years after. And so on, paragraph by paragraph.
The obit repeated three first-hand anecdotes from my history of classical recording without attribution. I brought these failures to the attention of the obituaries editor, Harry de Quetteville, who disdained to reply.
The obits in the Telegraph are unsigned, a device intended to give them authority. But the paper has descended so far from its former standards that anonymity merely becomes a cover for plagiarism, laziness and mediocrity.
The Telegraph obits were once the first place a reader turned for entertainment and enlightenment. On this evidence, they are no longer worth trusting.
Don’t get it right, get it written as the old saying goes. I always hate reading about these things. Where are the *#%^^ fact-checkers?