John Culshaw - Recording Producer

[Mary Chambers]

Peter Pears, Britten and John Culshaw, listening to the playback of Midsummer Night's Dream.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Comparing the Culshaw/Britten recordings with the much later digital Gloriana, shows just how a great recording company can go backwards. There's absolutely no sense of depth in the newer recording. Very surprising with a conductor as experienced in opera as Mackerras.

[Mandryka]

John Culshaw has long held a great fascination for me. Though one of the more public faces of the recording industry, with outstanding communication skills, very little seems to be known about him as a person; he guarded his privacy fiercely (and, perhaps, with good reason).

I love the period of recording with which Culshaw is most associated: the pioneering days of 'sonicstage' when producers and engineers went all out to 'better' the live concert experience; I'd argue that they succeeded to such an extent that I've never yet heard a live opera performance that is superior to the best available studio versions.

To my ears, his parting shot for Decca - Solti's Elektra - is the best thing to bear his name: some of the extra-musical effects go right over the top, but I don't care - the result is thrilling

Oddly enough, I bought PTRS for under a fiver in a second hand bookshop in Henley nearly 10 years ago. It was the subject of a rather embarrassing situation when I showed it to a friend, who got the impression I was giving it to him as a present (he still has it but I'm down to receive all his books in his will!). Never knew it went for silly prices, though...

I've never read (or seen) Culshaw's novels, but I like his prose style: it does, however, always convey a sense of a man holding something back (others have commented on this, as well). I subsequently learned that Culshaw was a prosmiscuous homosexual and an early victim of AIDS (before the disease had been recognised) and that his many visits to Australia (where he caught the disease) were for purposes of sex tourism. He led a double life: serious, sober classical music professional in the UK/America, wild, unbridled queen in the Antipodes.

[amateur51]

I subsequently learned that Culshaw was a prosmiscuous homosexual and an early victim of AIDS (before the disease had been recognised) and that his many visits to Australia (where he caught the disease) were for purposes of sex tourism. He led a double life: serious, sober classical music professional in the UK/America, wild, unbridled queen in the Antipodes.

I think that most British homosexual men of Culshaw's generation tended to lead double lives as male homosexual activity was still a criminal offence back in those those dark days - no surprises there.

I'm puzzled by your statement about 'sex tourism' and about Culshaw's being 'an unbridled queen in the Antipodes'. How did you come to these conclusions?

[Mandryka]

I think that most British homosexual men of Culshaw's generation tended to lead double lives as male homosexual activity was still a criminal offence back in those those dark days - no surprises there.

I'm puzzled by your statement about 'sex tourism' and about Culshaw's being 'an unbridled queen in the Antipodes'. How did you come to these conclusions?

I know some people who worked with Culshaw toward the end of his life. By all accounts, he was something of a Jekyll and Hyde character. I've also heard a story that Regine Crespin took quite a fancy to him, not suspecting anything, then got quite a shock when she learned the truth.

Yes, the 'double life' of the homosexual pre-Wolfenden has been well documented. In PTRS, Culshaw seems to be alluding to this when he tells the story of the sad little bank clerk whom he worked with prior to the start of his 'proper' career....and the sense of being a 'marked man' in a large organisation. Richard Osborne recalls this story in his Karajan biography.

[amateur51]

I think it was more the pejorative use of 'sex tourism' (if a man goes on holiday abroad and has a sexual liaison, does that constitute 'sex tourism'? And if he goes to Bognor instead?); 'promiscuous' (usually someone who has more sexual partners than I do); and 'unbridled queen' (lordy!) that piqued my irriritation. I know we're talking about the 1960s but we are in the 21st century now.

[Mandryka]

I think it was more the pejorative use of 'sex tourism' (if a man goes on holiday abroad and has a sexual liaison, does that constitute 'sex tourism'? And if he goes to Bognor instead?); 'promiscuous' (usually someone who has more sexual partners than I do); and 'unbridled queen' (lordy!) that piqued my irriritation. I know we're talking about the 1960s but we are in the 21st century now.

Sorry to irritate you....I ought to clarify: the trips abroad were specifically for the purpose of pursuing sexual relations, in an environment where such things would be 'off the radar'. 'Promiscuity' refers to multiple sexual liaisons engaged in without emotional commitment on either side. As to Culshaw having been an 'unbridled queen'....well, I think it was more a case of him giving expression to his true nature, as opposed to the buttoned-up, slightly starchy character that comes across in his published works.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

... I know we're talking about the 1960s but we are in the 21st century now.

Does that make promiscuity OK then? I think not.

[amateur51]

Does that make promiscuity OK then? I think not.

As we're all working on hearsay, and taking my observation that the charge of 'promiscuity' usually means 'more sexual partners than I have' I think that this is a fruitless exchange.

However, I would repeat that sexual liaisons between men in the 1950s-60s were fraught with difficulty, particularly in UK where we had Home Secretaries and police forces who were very keen to 'crack down on this sort of thing' so it it is not surprising that Culshaw went abroard and that his relationships, whether involving emotional ties or not, were not for the long term.

I just hope that he found some sort of happiness, poor chap.

[Mandryka]

Promiscuity is only the concern of the promsicuous individual and those whom he/she enters into relations with. It is not for us to judge, though Culshaw was an early victim of a dangerous game that has since claimed many lives.

This information about Culshaw is not hearsay: it's fact.

Of couse, we'll never know whether he was happy or not: professionally, he does seem to have been fulfilled and maybe he never really wanted to be in a monogamous relationship? There is a certain opacity about his prose style which suggests an extremely 'protected' personality, which is part of his enduring fascination, for me at least.

[amateur51]

Promiscuity is only the concern of the promsicuous individual and those whom he/she enters into relations with. It is not for us to judge, though Culshaw was an early victim of a dangerous game that has since claimed many lives.

This information about Culshaw is not hearsay: it's fact.

Of couse, we'll never know whether he was happy or not: professionally, he does seem to have been fulfilled and maybe he never really wanted to be in a monogamous relationship? There is a certain opacity about his prose style which suggests an extremely 'protected' personality, which is part of his enduring fascination, for me at least.

Well one of the things that we know about 'the dangerous game' is that you don't have to be multi-partnered to be 'at risk'. Unfortunately, people seem very happy to judge multi-partnered people based solely on the numerical aspect. Who knows, they may all have been surpremely happy.

You describe what you have reported as 'facts' but they appear to be opinions for the most part. His being in Australia is a fact, for sure.

I am thrilled to find that probably the most talented recording producer of his generation is a member of my tribe. As I say, I just hope that he was happy in Australia, away from all the gossip & tittle-tattle. We'll never know if he wanted to be in a monogamous relationship. It would have been something of a miracle at that time if he had managed it. It makes you realise how remarkable the Perars-Britten relationship was for its time.

[Mandryka]

Well one of the things that we know about 'the dangerous game' is that you don't have to be multi-partnered to be 'at risk'. Unfortunately, people seem very happy to judge multi-partnered people based solely on the numerical aspect. Who knows, they may all have been surpremely happy.

You describe what you have reported as 'facts' but they appear to be opinions for the most part. His being in Australia is a fact, for sure.

I am thrilled to find that probably the most talented recording producer of his generation is a member of my tribe. As I say, I just hope that he was happy in Australia, away from all the gossip & tittle-tattle. We'll never know if he wanted to be in a monogamous relationship. It would have been something of a miracle at that time if he had managed it. It makes you realise how remarkable the Perars-Britten relationship was for its time.

As I said before, my knowledge of Culshaw stems from an acquaintance with people who knew him professionally and personally, though if any of them slept with him, they kept it a secret. I'm happy to accept this knowledge as 'fact' rather than 'opinion', because I trust the people concerned.

Culshaw's homosexuality, though no secret in the business, did not enter the public domain until he was posthumously 'outed' by Norman Lebrecht (who else?).

As to being 'delighted' that Culshaw was 'of (your) tribe' - I've never really understood 'tribal' feeling. Afaia, one's sexuality is not something one has control over, so being tribal makes no sense. I was born in Liverpool, like Culshaw, so I could probably claim that he was part of my 'tribe', too, though where you're born is as arbitrary as what bus you end up taking.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The bottom line is that Culshaw was one of the finest recording producers of all time, just as Britten and Tchaikovsky were great composers. The fact that they were homosexual is of very little importance to the rest of the world.

[amateur51]

As to being 'delighted' that Culshaw was 'of (your) tribe' - I've never really understood 'tribal' feeling. Afaia, one's sexuality is not something one has control over, so being tribal makes no sense. I was born in Liverpool, like Culshaw, so I could probably claim that he was part of my 'tribe', too, though where you're born is as arbitrary as what bus you end up taking.

I accept of course what your friends say about their relationship with him, but the question of what he died of remains unconvincing. There were no HIV tests back when Culshaw died because there was no HIV/AIDS.

As to the 'tribe' question, what Culshaw & I shared is the awful sense of living in a deeply unaccepting society almost like a secret agent, having chosen neither our natures nor the Society into which we were born. Most people don't appreciate this, believing that all that gay men share is their common sexuality, whereas in fact it tends to be the experience of oppression that binds us even closer, individual tastes being what they are.

[amateur51]

The bottom line is that Culshaw was one of the finest recording producers of all time, just as Britten and Tchaikovsky were great composers. The fact that they were homosexual is of very little importance to the rest of the world.

We'll just have to disagree on that EA