Mercury Living Presence

A 'tour de force' of thrilling orchestral playing and brilliant audio engineering, Antal Dorati's mono recordings are collected for the first time. Newly remastered, this collection comprehensively documents a golden era in American classical recording and most of these vividly-characterized recordings appear on CD for the first time."has to be heard to be believed … is it possible to exceed this in the art of reproduced sound?" The New Records.

A 'tour de force' of thrilling orchestral playing and brilliant audio engineering, Antal Dorati's mono recordings are collected for the first time. Newly remastered, this collection comprehensively documents a golden era in American classical recording and most of these vividly-characterized recordings appear on CD for the first time."has to be heard to be believed … is it possible to exceed this in the art of reproduced sound?" The New Records.

The legendary American pianist Byron Janis, who turns 95 in March 2023, was the first pupil of another iconic pianist - Vladimir Horowitz. Horowitz famously told Janis 'I don't want you to be a 'second Horowitz' I want you to be a 'first Janis'.' Janis certainly established himself on the world stage when he made his Carnegie Hall debut recital in October 1948, garnering a rave review from the New York Times' Olin Downes who praised him as a distinctive artist in his own right destined for a major career. Between 1960 and 1964 Janis made a set of remarkable recordings for the Mercury Living Presence label.

The legendary American pianist Byron Janis, who turns 95 in March 2023, was the first pupil of another iconic pianist - Vladimir Horowitz. Horowitz famously told Janis 'I don't want you to be a 'second Horowitz' I want you to be a 'first Janis'.' Janis certainly established himself on the world stage when he made his Carnegie Hall debut recital in October 1948, garnering a rave review from the New York Times' Olin Downes who praised him as a distinctive artist in his own right destined for a major career. Between 1960 and 1964 Janis made a set of remarkable recordings for the Mercury Living Presence label.

Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4; Francesca da Rimini - London Symphony Orchestra; Antal Dorati
Classical | 1 CD | EAC prebeta 099 RIP | FLAC | 416 MB | scans + log | No CUE | RS links
Label: Mercury Living Presence

A truly rare excellent recording and performance, October 29, 2003
With each additional Living Presence CD I purchase I am more amazed at the sheer technical genius possessed by the Mercury recording engineers. The Tchaikovsy 4th and Prince Igor recordings are among the best recorded works that I have ever heard; the artistic merit is equally high. Fracesca de Rimini is vital from a performance point of view, though the recording quality is less.
To make an editorial statement: I think that this old Mercury recording shows how timeless technique, such as microphone placement, on a 40-year-old recording surpasses today's technical capabilities placed in less-capable hands. These old Mercury recordings bring out the music in a truly "living" way. Many of today's "wide dyanmic range" (ie. you often can't hear 50% of the music) recordings and their creators would be well-advised to learn from these old LP-era masterworks.
In any event Dorati and his orchestras have given the user a truly desert-island, compelling recording that you will reach for over and over again.
By A Customer form Amazon.com