John Culshaw 2023 Anniversary Box (12CD Box Set)

To celebrate the centenary of the birth of legendary producer John Culshaw, Decca releases a 12-CD set of some of the greatest recordings of the 20th Century, featuring recordings by Samuel Barber, Benjamin Britten, Aaron Copland, Clifford Curzon, Kathleen Ferrier, Julius Katchen, Georg Solti, Gerard Souzay, George Szell and more.

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Decca’s John Culshaw was the most influential recording producer of the 20th century, and even predicted music streaming decades before the launch of iTunes and Spotify.

This new 12-CD set marks the centenary of his birth in May and is a unique proposition celebrating the Producer as the Artist.

This collector’s trove of gems includes: Copland playing Copland; the first-ever studio recording of Barber's Adagio for Strings; the 1951 & 1953 Bayreuth recordings; a lost tape of Clifford Curzon; and the first international release of Georg Solti’s 1954 Brahms German Requiem, recorded by Culshaw for Capitol Records. The accompanying booklet includes a 6,500-word essay by Dominic Fyfe and many previously unseen photographs.

TRACK LIST

CD 1
The First Year, 1948-49
Recordings by Mansel Thomas*/Kathleen Ferrier/Aaron Copland*/Erna Sack*/Clifford Curzon*/Georg Solti/Ernest Bloch & Zara Nelsova/Boyd Neel*

CD 2
The Birth of the LP, 1950
Recordings by Royalton Kisch*/Don Gillis*/Ellabelle Davis*/Jacqueline Blancard*

CD 3
Barber conducts Barber, 1950
Cello Concerto (Zara Nelsova)/Medea Suite*/Symphony No.2*

CD 4
Bayreuth, 1951 & 1953
Highlights from Parsifal/Knappertsbusch (1951) and Lohengrin/Keilberth* (1953)

CD 5
Amsterdam, 1951 & Hamburg, 1953
Brahms 3/Szell (Concertgebouworkest, 1951) & Dvorak 7/Schmidt-Isserstedt* (Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra, 1953)

CD 6
Copenhagen, 1952 & 1953
Haydn Symphonies 48* & 44*/Wöldike and Nielsen 1*/Jensen. Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

CD 7
Paris, 1952 & 1953
Recordings by Gerad Souzay*/Mado Robin*/Libero de Luca/Jean Borthayre/Janine Michaeau/Raffaele Arié with Paris Conservatoire Orchestra

CDs 8 & 9
Coronation Year, 1955
Recordings by Malcolm Sargent/Jennifer Vyvyan*/Boyd Neel*

CD 10
Frankfurt, 1954
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (recorded for Capitol Records)

CD 11
Return to Decca, 1955
Mozart Piano Concertos 13 & 20. Katchen/Maag, 1955; Bach Partita No 3. Emil Telmányi, 1953*

CD 12
Culshaw in his own words, 1960 & 1980
The Birth of an Opera narrated by Culshaw (Solti Tristan, 1960)

Götterdämmerung: a BBC Radio 3 talk, 1980.*

*First international CD release on Decca