John Culshaw: The Ring Resounding

So I just finished reading John Culshaw's account of recording the first complete, and now legendary stereo Der Ring des Nibelungen with Georg Solti for Decca.

Recorded in the very early days of the LP, when stereo was still in it's infancy, this groundbreaking recording remains to this day the benchmark of all recorded Ring Cycles and a mammoth undertaking for any record company, either then or now.

John Culshaw, the producer of this legendary set wrote a memoir of his experience over the nearly 8 years it took to produce and published it in 1967.

It provides a welcome narrative for anyone interested in the history behind the making of one of the greatest recording achievements in musical history and a fascinating insight into some of the greatest operatic personalities of the era.

It's been released as an ibook (click on the image for a link) and I can thoroughly recommend it, not only for documenting the background to the recording, but in realising that what was thought as merely a fantasy forty years ago for one of the greatest recording producers ever, is now a major reality and taken for granted by an increasing number in the western world - that of home entertainment systems where one can experience both recorded and filmed opera performances in the comfort of ones own home.