Recording

David Pickett has been involved in audio recording since his teenage years. At that time, and since, he built his own audio equipment — often to his own design — including loudspeakers, amplifiers, and an analog tape recorder. He been active in professional audio since 1969, when he joined EMI's Abbey Road Studios as a recording engineer and was engaged in recording music of all sorts. Since leaving there in 1979, he has concentrated on producing recordings of classical music.

Research on Recording

Click here to open a page on David Pickett's Surround Sound experiments and other essays on research topics related to audio.

EMI Recordings

During his 10 years at Abbey Road, Pickett worked in England and Italy with EMI house producers and engineers, including

• Christopher Bishop
• Neville Boyling
• Robert (Bob) Gooch
• Anthony Griffith
• Suvi Raj Grubb
• Ronald Kinloch-Anderson
• Walter Legge
• George Martin
• John Mordler
• Mickie Most
• David Mottley
• Norman Newell
• Christopher Parker
• Walter Ridley

and with

• George Korngold (RCA)
• Bill Leader (Leader Records)
• John McClure (CBS)
• Paul Myers (CBS)
• Alan Warner (United Artists)
• Michael Williamson (London and Westminster Records)

Musicians with whom he worked included

• Dame Janet Baker (Beethoven: Mass in C)
• Sir John Barbirolli (Vaughan Williams and Sibelius Symphonies)
• Daniel Barenboim, Jacqueline Du Pré, Pinchas Zukerman (Beethoven: Piano Trios)
• Leonard Bernstein (Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps, Symphony of Psalms)
• Pierre Boulez (Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande)
• Sir Adrian Boult (Vaughan Williams: A Pilgrim's Progress, Brahms: Symphonies)
• Montserrat Caballé (Bellini: Il Pirata, etc)
• Placido Domingo (Puccini: Manon Lescaut, etc.)
• Carlo Maria Giulini (Verdi: Don Carlos, Beethoven: Mass in C)
• Otto Klemperer (Bruckner: Symphonies 8 & 9, Wagner: Die Walküre)
• Leopold Stokowski (Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade)
• Sir David Willcocks (Handel: Messiah, Carols from King's)

Pickett was also responsible for audio restorations, and compilations, including:

• Wilhelm Furtwängler: Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (1953 RAI Ring Cycle)
• Maria Callas: La Scala recordings
• Sir Thomas Beecham: Puccini: La Bohème (stereo)
• The Beatles: "1962/1966" (Red Album) & "1967/1970" (Blue Album)
• The Golden Age of Hollywood: a series of albums of film music and dialog
  (Warner Bros/United Artists)
• Laurel & Hardy film soundtracks (UA)
• Extracts from the Bing Crosby Radio Shows (UA)

Teaching

In 1979, Pickett was appointed to succeed John Borwick as Lecturer in Recording Techniques at the University of Surrey and was responsible there for all the Tonmeister degrees. From 1983 to 1999 he was Director of Recording Arts at the Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington, Indiana. At Indiana University he established and developed two degree programmes in sound recording, remaining at the same time active as a producer of recordings. Click here to know more about David Pickett's teaching activities.

Non-EMI Recordings

2009	The First Carnegie Hall Euphonium Recital Crystal CD393	Brian Bowman, euphonium Steven Harlos, piano Listen to an extract
2008	Orchestra Plus A sampler of music with orchestra at the University of North Texas, 2007/8 OP2008	Various UNT ensembles and soloists Listen to an extract
	An die Freude	Lynn Eustis, soprano Linda di Fiore, mezzo-soprano David Sundquist, tenor Jeffrey Snider, bass UNT Singers, cond. Jerry McCoy Elvia Puccinelli, fortepiano
2007	Armonia Stravagante Music at the Este Court in Ferrara 1580–1600 CM–103	UNT Baroque Ensemble directed by Lyle Nordstrom Listen to an extract
2006	Christmas Vespers in Cusco CM–102	UNT Collegium Singers and Instrumentalists directed by Lyle Nordstrom with Ensemble Lipzodes and Paula Fagerberg Listen to an extract
2005	Music from the Vienna Mahler Symposium	A CD to accompany the published proceedings of the April 2005 Mahler Symposium, published by the International Gustav Mahler Society and the University of Vienna Listen to an extract
2004	Mahleriana: Zur Werden einer Ikone	2 CDs to accompany the catalog of the exhibition Mahler: zur Werden einer Ikone, published by the International Gustav Mahler Society and the Jewish Museum, Vienna
2002	Beethoven:     Sonata in F op. 17     Romanze op. 50 Schumann:     Fantasiestücke op. 73     Drei Romanzen op. 94 Brahms: Sechs Lieder GAL–CD–1142	Kim Walker, bassoon Leonard Hokanson, piano
2000	The Music of Frederick Fox, Vol. 2 IUSM-09	Indiana University New Music Ensemble
	The Music of Don Freund IUSM-10	Indiana University New Music Ensemble
1999	A New Beginning CDH 59696 00612	Caroline Dowd, soprano Alfred Prinz, piano Music of Fauré, Prinz, Strauss, Barber, Puccini, Dvorak, Cilea,Verdi and Weber
	Weber: Music for Clarinet EMI 7471-81271-2	James Campbell, clarinet Leonard Hokanson, piano
	Chamber Music of Bernhard Heiden Clarinet Quintet Piano Sonata (4 hands) Variations for Recorder Solo for Saxophone Intrada Preludes Cadenza CAD 800920	Bruce Bransby, bass James Campbell, clarinet Nicholas Daniel, oboe Cordula Hacke, piano Leonard Hokanson, piano Eva Legêne, recorder Eugene Rousseau, saxophone Thomas Robertello, flute Kim Walker, bassoon Carol Wincenc, flute
	Bridges to Bloomington Music of Prinz, Heiden, Uhl and Weill Crystal CD736	Trio Indiana: James Campbell, Eli Eban, Howard Klug; Mitchell Lurie, Alfred Prinz & Min-Ho Yeh, clarinets
1998	New Music from Indiana University, Vol. 2 IUSM-08	Indiana University New Music Ensemble
1996	Music of Defaye, Kulesha, Schickele, Kibbe and Fox Crystal CD734	Trio Indiana: James Campbell, Eli Eban & Howard Klug, clarinets
	Mozart/Mahler Beethoven/Mahler Elysium GRK710 *	Symphonies Nos. 40 & 41 Overture, Leonore No. 3 Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, cond. Peter Tiboris
	Mahler: Symphony No. 3 IUSM-06/07	IU Philharmonic Orchestra and Choirs cond. Arpad Joo
1995	New Music from Indiana University Vol. 1 IUSM-05	Indiana University New Music Ensemble
	Beethoven/Mahler Elysium GRK702 *	Symphony No.3 Overture, Coriolan Overture, Leonore No. 2 Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, cond. Peter Tiboris
1994	Beethoven/Mahler Elysium GRK712 *	Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7 Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Peter Tiboris
1993	The Music of Juan Orrego Salas IUSM-02	Indiana University ensembles
	The Music of Frederick Fox IUSM-03	Indiana University ensembles
	The Music of John Eaton IUSM-04	various artists
	Glenn Gass String Trio, Piano Quartet CRI CD633	Scott Chamber Players
	Schubert/Mahler Beethoven/Mahler TROY089	Symphony No.9 in C Overture, zur Weihe des Hauses Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra cond. Peter Tiboris
1992	Claude Baker Omaggi e Fantasie, Vier Nachtszenen Gasparo GSCD286	Michael Cameron, bass David Liptak, piano Ruth Inglefield, harp
1991	Trombones under the Tree Summit DCD146	M Dee Stewart, Joseph Alessi, Carl Lenthe, Mark H Lawrence, trombones
1990	Roger Reynolds Transfigured Wind IV Neuma 45074	Harvey Sollberger, flute
	The Music of Paris in the 1920s and 30s Gothic G49037	Marilyn Keiser, organ
1988	Karl Weigl Gian-Francesco Malipiero Joaquin Turina IUSM-01	String Quartet No.1 in C minor, op. 20 Quartet for Strings no 1: "Rispetti e strambotti" La oración del torero, op. 34 The Christopher Quartet
* Click here to visit the Elysium Records website