Various Artists - Mercury Living Presence Collector's Edition Box Set

Same limited-edition, numbered box set approach as the first Collector's Edition Set

Every 180-gram LP is expertly remastered at the Emil Berliner Studios

Original rear inlays, to make these new pressings as authentic as possible

"One feels oneself in the living presence of the orchestra" — The New York Times

As a companion release to the Mercury Living Presence Collector's Edition, Volume 2 of this limited-edition set presents six iconic and much sought-after LPs on high quality 180-gram vinyl.

Each LP is housed in a replica of the original LP sleeve with its very distinctive cover art and in a range of repertory that typifies the adventurous and pioneering spirit of Mercury Living Presence — from Beethoven with Dorati [a very late Mercury recording and very rare LP] and his seminal 1962 LP "Vienna 1908-1914" — a ground-breaking recording of music by the composers of the Second Viennese School. Dorati also conducts a celebrated French programme "Dada • Surrealism" — with Satie's Parade and Milhaud's Le Boeuf sur le toit and shorter pieces by Auric and Françaix.

Two LPs feature American music by Chadwick, Sessions and McPhee with Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra.

Mercury Living Presence is special in many ways — an American company, from the heyday of classical recording in the U.S., that reproduced some of the most sonically realistic recordings at the dawn of the stereo era. Precious few stereo LPs were pressed when these recordings were issued, and they became some of the rarest, most collectible classical discs ever. Mercury Living Presence continues to enjoy a special reputation as one of the most enterprising, prestigious and sonically-spectacular labels in the history of classical recording.

Some of these recordings have been available on CD and on SACD. However, many are now deleted and only available second-hand or through auction sellers at pemium prices. Mercury Living Presence continues to enjoy a special reputation as one of the most enterprising, prestigous and sonically-spectacular labels in the history of classical recording.

 

LP 1

Side 1: Vienna 1908-1914

Arnold Schoenberg (1874 - 1951)

5 Pieces for Orchestra, Op.16

1949 Revision

1. Vorgefühle (Premonitions)

2. Vergangenes (Yesteryears)

3. Sommermorgen an einem See (Summer Morning by a Lake)

4. Peripetie (Peripetia)

5. Das obligate Rezitativ (The Obligatory Recitative)

Side 2: Vienna 1908-1914

Anton Webern (1883 - 1945)

5 Pieces for Orchestra, Op.10

1. Sehr ruhig und zart –

2. Lebhaft und zart bewegt

3. Sehr langsam und äußerst ruhig

4. Fließend äußerst zart

5. Sehr fließend

Alban Berg (1885 - 1935)

3 Pieces for Orchestra, Op.6

1. Praeludium (Prelude)

2. Reigen (Round Dance)

3. Marsch (March)

LP 2

Side 1: Beethoven: Symphony No.7

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Symphony No.7 in A, Op.92

1. Poco sostenuto - Vivace

2. Allegretto

Side 2: Beethoven: Symphony No.7

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Symphony No.7 in A, Op.92

3. Presto - Assai meno presto

4. Allegro con brio

LP 3

Side 1: Dada - Surrealism

Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974)

1. Le boeuf sur le toit, Op.58

Jean Françaix (1912 - 1997)

Concertino for Piano and Orchestra

1. Presto leggiero

2. Lent

3. Rondeau (Allegretto)

Side 2: Dada - Surrealism

Georges Auric (1899 - 1983)

1.Overture

Erik Satie (1866 - 1925)

2.Parade

LP 4

Side 1: Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 in C minor - "Organ"

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921)

Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78 "Organ Symphony"

1a. Adagio - Allegro moderato -

1b. Poco adagio

Side 2: Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 in C minor - "Organ"

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921)

Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78

2a. Allegro moderato - Presto - Allegro moderato

2b. Maestoso - Più allegro - Molto allegro

LP 5

Side 1: Chadwick: Symphonic Sketches

George Whitefield Chadwick (1854 - 1931)

Symphonic Sketches

1. Jubilee

2. Noël

Side 2: Chadwick: Symphonic Sketches

George Whitefield Chadwick (1854 - 1931)

Symphonic Sketches

3. Hobgoblin

4. A Vagrom Ballad

LP 6

Side 1: Sessions: The Black Maskers; McPhee: Tabuh-Tabuhan

Roger Sessions (1896 - 1985)

The Black Maskers - Orchestral Suite

1. Dance (Stridente-sarcastico)

2. Scene (Agitato molto)

3. Dirge (Larghissimo)

4. Finale (Andante moderato un poco agitato)

Side 2: Sessions: The Black Maskers; McPhee: Tabuh-Tabuhan

Colin McPhee (1900 - 1964)

Tabuh-Tabuhan

1. Ostinatos

2. Nocturne

3. Finale

Customer Reviews (4.50 Stars) 2 person(s) rated this product.

Great sound. posted on 01/12/2016 4 Stars Great sounding records. And very different to my other Mercury Living Presence Reissue’s from Speakers Corner. I asked myself, what did Decca/DGG do different. According to a Stereophile article from 04/2013 those records where mastered from 16bit 44.1 KHz digital files. Not that there is anything wrong with that, after all the mastering counts. And this mastering, done by Wilma Cozart Fine, is really great. But if I would have known that there is a CD box set with 55 CD’s, which contains the same records and much more, I properly would not have bought this one. The issue these days is the provenance of the vinyl records.

A superb followup to Volume 1 posted on 06/12/2013 5 Stars Reviewer: Jonathan This set is the second 6-lp reissue of selected Mercury Living Presence recordings, the initial volume having been released during 2012. The original 2012 set was superb and this followup set is every bit as good as the original. Pressings are uniformly excellent, the sound is clear and well-defined and the transfers to vinyl have obviously been performed with a great deal of care and expertise. An excellent booklet is included which contains a number of interesting photographs I have not seen published anywhere else. I certainly will not hestitate to purchase any further volumes in this series, but I would hope that the Mercury recordings of Henryk Szeryng are given further consideration, since apart from the Brahms Concerto in Volume 1, so far as I am aware none of his Mercury recordings have ever been reissued onto LP in the "modern" era of audiophile LP reissues.

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