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Wed 11 Nov 2009An Irishman's Diary
AMONG THE several claims to fame of a Canadian pianist who will play the National Concert Hall next week is that she is a grand-daughter of one John L Todd, a man who became her country’s first “professor of parasitology”, writes FRANK MCNALLY
Which lends a certain aptness to another of Janina Fialkowska’s biographical footnotes. Namely that she was one of the victims of what may be classical music’s greatest ever hoax. I refer of course to the Joyce Hatto scandal, wherein an obscure English pianist experienced what seemed to be a miraculous artistic renaissance late in life: making at least 100 virtuoso recordings of a bewildering range of composers, despite not having performed in concert for 30 years.
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