lampson@tellab5.tellabs.COM (Dave Lampson) (10/23/90)
[Tom,
I posted the following article regarding the reissue of Mercury Living
Presence recordings on CD to both rec.music.cd and rec.music.classical.
There was some discussion regarding these a week or two ago, I believe,
in rec.audio.high-end, so I thought you might be interested in posting
it there as well.
Cheers,
Dave]
The following information is taken verbatim from the Mercury Living Presence
brochure I picked up at the local CD store. There have been a few questions
and comments on these new CD releases recently on the net, so I thought there
might be some interest. I personally have bought the "British & American Band
Classics" and "Hanson Conducts Hanson" CDs and am very impressed. I have also
heard the Liszt concerto CD and though the orchestral balance is a bit off
(i.e., no basses, but lots of trumpets) the performance is excellent as is
the clarity of all three releases. Generally, these releases are selling for
$9-11 depending on the store.
Dave
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Mercury Living Presence
NO COMPROMISE!
America's most valuable recordings just became better
Meticulously remixed and remastered
under the supervision of the original producer
THE MERCURY MYSTIQUE
PHILIPS CLASSICS RELEASES HISTORIC MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE SERIES ON CD
The original Mercury Living Presence series is prized for its exceptional sound
quality and legendary performances by such artists as cellist Janos Starker,
pianist Byron Janis, and conductors Antal Dorati, Paul Paray, Howard Hanson and
Frederick Fennell. Audio and music lovers have long-awaited the release of the
Living Presence series on compact disc.
The original LPs, cherished among collectors, sometimes fetch hundreds, even
thousands, of dollars. This loyal following is testimony to mercury's unique
character, as well as to the widely-held belief that it represents the very
best in orchestral recording. It is this recognition of and devotion to the
distinct sonic identity of Living Presence that has created the Mercury
mystique.
Wilma Cozart Fine, recording director for most of the original Living Presence
sessions, has overseen every step of the Mercury project. The aim of the
production and engineering team has been to capture as accurately as possible
the true sound of the original tape and film masters.
For the transfer of the masters to the digital domain, the original Mercury
vacuum tube Westrex film recorder and Ampex three-track tape machine were
restored, and the original tube console was brought back to combine the three
tracks into two. These components, together with a carefully selected
state-of-the-art digital chain, have made it possible to capture on compact
disc the true character and magic of the Living Presence masters.
Only original masters were used for the CD transfer, and as in the recording
sessions themselves, there was no equalization, filtering, compression or
limiting. Throughout the CD mastering process, the digital master was matched
against the three-track master to insure true and faithful digital reproduction
of the original.
This combination of classic tube technology and state-of-the-art digital
equipment recreates for compact disc the wide dynamic range, life-like clarity
and spatial perspective of Mercury Living Presence. The result - recordings
that sound better than ever.
BRIEF HISTORY OF MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE
It was a startling development in the world of high fidelity when Mercury
released its first Living Presence recording in 1951. Listening to this
recording of Moussorgsky's Pictures at an exhibition with the Chicago Symphony
under Rafael Kubelik, Howard Taubman, then chief music critic of the New York
Times, wrote it was "like being in the living presence of the orchestra."
Following this first spectacular first release, Mercury produced more than 350
records during the next seventeen years.
Mercury's inovative approach, masterminded by C. Robert Fine, was based on
the premise that, given a hall with excellent acoustical properties, a single
ultra-sensitive microphone should be capable of capturing the sound of a
symphony orchestra with unprecented clarity, realistic balance and crisp
definition. Though single-microphone recordings had been made before, the
idea of recording large scale scale symphonic works was bold and innovative.
Later, after the move from mono to stereo, three microphones, one for each
channel, were employed.
Extra, or "touch-up" microphones were never used, even for recordings of
concertos, operas or other works for soloists. Thus, the true clarity and
full panorama of the sound was vividly captured, as well as the perspective
and spatial dimension of an actual performance.
THE MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE TEAM
WILMA COZART FINE, PRODUCER AND MUSICAL SUPERVISOR
When Philips, due to unprecedented demand from the public, elected to release
the Mercury series, Wilma Cozart Fine, former Mercury vice-president and
director of its classical division, who had retired in 1964 to raise a family,
was the logical choice to bring her special "ear" and experience to the task of
producing and supervising the transfer of the legendary recordings to CD.
Initially, Fine herself was not convinced that a satisfactory transfer of the
Living Presence series to CD was possible. After many months of listening,
experimentation and testing, she decided it could ne done and set to work.
Fine's uncompromising dedication to the faithful reproduction, on disc, of the
full range and scope of the original master tapes, first for LP and now for CD,
has brought an unmatched consistency and integrity to the Mercury Living
Presence series. Her "golden ears" and hands-on attention to every detail of
the recording and production process have made these treasued performances
available once again under the most superior circumstances.
DENNIS DRAKE, MASTERING ENGINEER
Working hand-in-hand with Wilma Cozart Fine on the Mercury Living Presence
project, has been PolyGram's vice-president of Studio and Technical Operations,
Dennis Drake. Drake brings a distinguished background as a recording and audio
engineer to this project.
AMERICA'S MOST VALUABLE RECORDINGS NOW AVAILABLE ON CD
Balalaika Favorites
Osipov State Russian Folk Orchestra
432001-2
Dvorak: Cello Concerto in B minor
Bruch: Kol Nidrei
Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations
Janos Starker
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Liszt: Piano Concerto #1
Byron Janis
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kiril Kondrashin
Liszt: Piano Concerto #2
Byron Janis
Moscow Radio Symphony, Grennady Rozhdestvensky
Encore: Works by Liszt, Schumann, Falla, Guion
432002-2
Ibert: Escales
Ravel: Rapsodie Espagnole; Alborada del gracioso;
Pavane pour un infante defunte; La valse; Le Tombeau de Couperin
Detroit Symphony, Paul Paray
432003-2
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet Suite 1 & 2
Minneapolis Symphony, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Moussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
432004-2
Kodaly: Harry Janos Suite
Bartok: Hungarian Sketches; Roumanian Dances
Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati
Kodaly: Dances of Galanta; Marosszek
Philharmonia Hungarica, Antal Dorati
432005-2
Vienna: Schoenberg, Webern, Berg
Schoenberg: Five Pieces For Orchestra
Webern: Five Pieces For Orchestra
Berg: Three Pieces For Orchestra; Suite from Lulu
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
432006-2
Respighi: The Birds; Brazilian Impressions
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Respighi: The Pines of Rome; The Fountains of Rome
Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati
432007-2
Hanson Conducts Hanson: Symphony #1 "Nordic";
Symphony #2 "Romantic";
Songs of Democracy
Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, Howard Hanson
432008-2
British & American Band Classics
Eastman Wind Ensemble, Frederick Fennell
432009-2
SOON TO BE RELEASED
Cello Concertos by Schumann, Lalo & Saint-Saens
Janos Starker
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor
Byron Janis
Minneapolis Symphony, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto #1
Byron Janis
London Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Menges
Stravinsky Fireworks: Firebird (Complete);
Song of the Nightingale
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Music of Leroy Anderson
Eastman-Rochester "Pops", Frederick Fennell
French Opera Highlights
Detroit Symphony, Paul Paray
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies
Enesco: Roumanian Rhapsody #1
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Barber: Medea Suite; Gould's Spirituals and
Fall River Legend
Eastman-Rochester Orchestra, Howard Hanson
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Bartok: Dance Suite; Two Portraits for Orchestra
Philharmonia Hungarica, Antal Dorati
Beethoven: Piano Concerto #4
Gina Bachauer
London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Beethoven: Piano Concerto #5
Gina Bachauer
London Symphony Orchestra, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
Screamers! (Circus Marches), and March Time
Eastman Wind Ensemble, Frederick Fennell