The performer’s place in the process and product of recording

This may seem a strange question to ask, as the most obvious answer would be: centre-stage, in front of the microphones, being recorded, with their name in bold across the CD cover. But the situation is rather more complicated than that. There are many people involved in the making of a recording, most notably the producer and production team (and factors such as the technology and studio situation) and the performer often does not have the control over the process or product that we might assume they do. In the case of Classical orchestral musicians this can result in a dislike of the process, doubts about whether they like what is captured, and disillusionment with the effects of editing and the expectation of perfection. I will propose some solutions: reconsidering the ontologies of live and recorded formats, training conservatoire students to make the transition from stage to studio, making producers and engineers more aware of the challenges and justifiable fears that musicians face when standing in front of the microphone, and opening critics’ and listeners’ ears to the new possibilities that musicians and producers might explore if they were given the artistic freedom to try.