Prelude to Das Rheingold. Composed by Richard Wagner. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti, with Gustav Neidlinger as Alberich. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – SXL 2101/2/3, 1959. Vinyl recording. Listen
In the 1950s, classical record producers were fixated on realism, aspiring to put listeners in the ‘best seat of an acoustically perfect hall.’ Not so for John Culshaw, however, a maverick producer who used new stereophonic technology to produce operas that were more dramatic, more spatially immersive and (so he claimed) more faithful to a composer’s intentions. Sonic highlights from Culshaw’s producing career accompany a reading from his two memoirs, ‘Ring Resounding’ and ‘Putting the Record Straight.’
DownloadPrelude to Das Rheingold. Composed by Richard Wagner. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti, with Gustav Neidlinger as Alberich. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – SXL 2101/2/3, 1959. Vinyl recording. Listen
Prelude to Das Rheingold. Composed by Richard Wagner. Performed by the Rome Symphony Orchestra of RAI, cond. Wilhelm Furtwängler. MRF – MRF 14, 1953. Vinyl recording. Listen
Movement 4 from Symphony No. 9 in D minor, op. 125, ‘Choral’. Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Performed by the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, cond. Wilhelm Furtwängler. Produced by Walter Legge. Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival, 1951. EMI – 66953. CD reissue. Listen
Ihr listigen frauen from Act 3 of Götterdämmerung. Composed by Richard Wagner. Performed by the Bayreuth Festspielorchester, cond. Hans Knappertsbusch, with Bernd Aldenhoff as Siegfried. Produced by John Culshaw. Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival, 1951. Testament UK – SBT4 1393, 2007. CD issue of unreleased Decca recording. Listen
Act 2 of Carmen. Composed by Georges Bizet. Performed by the Comic Opera of Paris, cond. André Cluytens, with Raoul Jobin as Don José. Columbia – 33CX 1016–8, 1950. Vinyl recording. Listen
Poème de Feu. Composed by Alexander Scriabin. Performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, cond. Leopold Stokowski. Victor – 7517, 1932. Vinyl recording. Listen
Various stereophonic demonstrations from Adventures in Stereo. Decca – 738046, 1957. Listen
‘Piano right after a good tuning.’ Performed and recorded by Calvin Lee. Modified digital recording. Listen
Movement 1 from Piano Concerto in A Major. Composed by Edvard Grieg. Performed by Clifford Curzon with the London Symphony Orchestra, cond. Øivin Fjelstad. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – SXL.2173, 1960. Listen
Herr Graf, Sie Haben Ihrem Werten Brief from Act 1 of Arabella. Composed by Richard Strauss. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti, with Anton Dermota as Matteo, Lisa della Casa as Arabella and Hilde Güden as Zdenka. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – 478 1400, 1958. Vinyl recording. Listen
So muss ich fragen, Arabella! from Act 3 of Arabella. Listen
Das Ist der Schlitten vom Elemer from Act 1 of Arabella. Listen
Ah! Ich habe deinen Mund geküsst, Jochanaan from Scene 4 of Salome. Composed by Richard Strauss. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti, with Birgit Nilsson as Salome. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – 228/9, 1962. Vinyl recording. Listen
Part 2 of Elektra. Composed by Richard Strauss. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti, with Birgit Nilsson as Elektra. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – 354/5, 1967. Vinyl recording. Listen
Scene 1 from Act 2 of Tristan und Isolde. Composed by Richard Wagner. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – 204/8, 1961. Vinyl recording. Listen
Radames! Radames! Radames! from Act 4 of Aida. Composed by Giuseppe Verdi. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Herbert von Karajan, with Arnold van Mill as Ramphis and Renata Tebaldi as Aida. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – 2167–8–9, 1959. Vinyl recording. Listen
Lugt, Schwestern! from Act 1, Scene 1 of Das Rheingold. Composed by Richard Wagner. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti, with Gustav Neidlinger as Alberich. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – SXL 2101/2/3, 1959. Vinyl recording. Listen
Weia! Waga! Woge, du Welle! from Scene 1 of Das Rheingold.
Garstig glatter glitschriger Glimmer! From Scene 1 of Das Rheingold.
Der Welt Erbe gewänn’ ich zu eigen durch dich from Scene 1 of Das Rheingold.
Nehmt euch in acht! Alberich nacht from Scene 3 of Das Rheingold.
Vergeh, frevelnder Gauch! from Scene 3 of Das Rheingold.
Rheingold! Rheingold! Rheines Gold! from Scene 4 of Das Rheingold.
Fliegt heim, ihr Raben! from Act 3 of Götterdämmerung. Composed by Richard Wagner. Performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, cond. Georg Solti. Produced by John Culshaw. Decca – SET 292–7, 1965. Vinyl recording.
Producer
Willem Boning
Issue Editor
Willem Bonig
Senior Editors
Joseph Bedford and Curt Gambetta
Production Consultant
Griffin Ofiesh
Technical Assistant
Brendan Smith
Announcer
Trudy Watt
Narrator
Alistair Stokes
Special Thanks
Todd Brooks
Excerpts from
John Culshaw. Ring Resounding. New York: Viking, 1967.
John Culshaw. Putting the Record Straight. New York: Viking, 1982.