Peter Andry

Peter Edward Andry (10 March 1927 – 7 December 2010) was a classical record producer and an influential executive in the recording industry, active from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Born in Hamburg, Andry spent his formative years in Melbourne, Australia, where he became a professional flautist, with ambitions to be a conductor. After moving to England, where he studied with William Lloyd Webber and Sir Adrian Boult, he played the flute in the orchestra of a ballet company, with occasional chances to conduct. In 1953 he switched career, joining the Decca Record Company as a producer. Less than three years later he moved to Decca's rival, HMV Records, part of the EMI group, where he rose to become head of the group's classical operations.

After retiring from EMI in 1988, Andry headed a new classical label Warner Classics, before retiring finally from the recording industry in 1996.

Andry was born in Hamburg, the younger of two brothers. His mother was a professional opera singer, his father a lawyer. When Andry was eight the family moved to Australia, where he studied piano, composition and flute at the University of Melbourne. As a young and inexperienced supernumerary flautist he played under the baton of Otto Klemperer in a much-praised performance of Mahler's Second Symphony. After freelancing as a player, he joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission as a music producer, gaining knowledge of the technical side of studio recording.

In 1953 Andry won a British Council bursary, and moved to London to study with the composer William Lloyd Webber and work with the conductors Sir Adrian Boult and Walter Goehr. He played the flute in the orchestra of a touring dance company, the International Ballet, under the baton of a fellow Australian, James Walker, who arranged for him to conduct at some performances.

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