Sergio Fiorentino: Posthumous Forgeries on the Concert Artist Label
After the exposure of the Joyce Hatto scandal, it became clear that the deception extended beyond Hatto’s name. Several years after Fiorentino’s death, while the fraudulent Hatto CDs were being released, William Barrington-Coupe claimed to possess a number of previously unreleased Fiorentino recordings. These were subsequently issued as part of a new Fiorentino series on Barrington-Coupe’s Concert Artist label.
On the surface, Barrington-Coupe’s story seemed plausible as Fiorentino did make recordings for him in the 1960s. It is now believed that nearly all of these new “Fiorentino” recordings are compiled from the work of other pianists. The only known authentic recordings are Gershwin’s Concerto in F and 3 Preludes. As Fiorentino had died years earlier, he was a completely innocent victim of this deception, posthumously drawn into the sordid scandal surrounding Joyce Hatto’s output.
What you’ll find here
This section of the site is devoted exclusively to identifying and documenting the Concert Artist CDs falsely attributed to Sergio Fiorentino. Each individual CD page includes:
- Cover scans of the Fiorentino release and its known sources.
- A capsule summary explaining how the disc was compiled.
- A sources list (performer • label/catalog) for the identified tracks.
- Wav file comparisons for the identified tracks: the source recording and the Fiorentino track are juxtaposed, with timings rounded to the nearest second (after trimming silence).
Purpose
Like the Hatto section of this site, this project seeks to bring transparency and factual documentation to a chapter of recorded-piano history clouded by deceit. The evidence presented here aims to separate Fiorentino’s genuine legacy from the forgeries that tarnished his name after death.
Contribute
This work remains ongoing. Collectors and listeners who have discovered source recordings for any of the unidentified or partially identified Concert Artist Fiorentino discs are invited to contribute. Please use the Contact page to share information or verification materials; waveform and timing confirmations will be added as new evidence becomes available.