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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunningly good sound -, September 16, 2004
This review is from: Howard Hanson Conducts Barber, Piston, Griffes, McCauley, Kennan, Bergsma (Audio CD)
In the 1950s I used to work for one of the firms mentioned in the CD notes. Westrex made the film sound recording equipment for Mercury - we prided ourselves on the quality of our sound recording products. My Vinyl collection of Mercury recordings sounded great but the quality of this CD is totally magnificent. Great depth and clarity in the recording (which we older sound engineers still think is due to the use of vacuum tube (aka 'valve') technology). Good sound needs very little fiddling with - which is where Mercury recordings have always scored over the products of companies who use flight decks of mixers and faders. A great pleasure to listen to and heartily recommended for its inclusion of less well known American composers than Barber and Piston. The conductor was a fine composer as well!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get Mercury Living Presence Before Its Dead, July 3, 2003
This review is from: Howard Hanson Conducts Barber, Piston, Griffes, McCauley, Kennan, Bergsma (Audio CD)
When I first started collecting classical CDs, I only had a few Mercury Living Presence (MLP) titles. In my quest to get the absolute best, or at least a definitive recording, of the major works of the standard repertoire, MLP discs rarely topped the critics' lists. In fact, only three MLP recordings have been earmarked as "Essential Recordings" by Amazon.com -- Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Byron Janis performing Rachmaninov's 2nd & 3rd Piano Concertos, and Yehudi Menuhin performing Bartok's 2nd Violin Concerto, all three with Antal Dorati as conductor. It is also safe to say that three other titles are equally essential for their historical value alone. They are Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by Dorati (the first recording of the complete ballet), Janis performing Liszt's Piano Concertos (the first recordings made in the Soviet Union by American technicians, musical staff and equipment), and Kubelik's Chicago Symphony performance of Pictures at an Exhibition (one of, if not the single best mono recording ever, and the one that led the New York Times critic to coin the phrase "Living Presence," from which the label named its series). But how does a CD line go from having a half-dozen must have recordings, to being this reviewer's all-time favorite classical label? The answer: consistently magical performances, captured in brilliant golden-age stereo sound, that offer a slightly different take on your typical interpretation of the great works. Of course, MLP also went to great lengths to feature music by more obscure composers, particularly contemporary Americans. While Dorati, and to a lesser extent Paray, recorded these lesser known works, Howard Hanson was their champion. On this set, Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra showcase compositions by Barber, Piston (names I had heard prior to getting this disc), Griffes, Keenan, McCauley, and Bergsma (names I had never heard of before or since). While these are all virtually unknown compositions, Hanson performs them like they were from the classical canon. Maybe that is why collectors prize these recordings, because they are a breath of fresh air in a homogenized world of listening. Of course, collectors love a challenge too, and MLP CDs are becoming increasingly hard to find. It has taken years for me to finally find all of the MLP CDs released to date, and unfortunately I don't think there will be any new releases forthcoming. So collectors, and even those who aspire to be, should pick up as many Mercury Living Presence discs as possible now, before they all die.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Prize full of great music, February 22, 2004
This review is from: Howard Hanson Conducts Barber, Piston, Griffes, McCauley, Kennan, Bergsma (Audio CD)
I knew what I wanted in this CD, The work by Piston. My great amazement was discovering that short pieces by completely unknown composers were so really very good. This is a real GEM of a CD and I highly recommend it for the obscure works as well as the Piston and Griffes. I felt the sound of the orchestra was a little thin, strings were not lush but the rythmic intensity and commitment of the musicians was clearly there and Hanson certainly knows his way around this stuff. Grab it while you can still get it. Thanks Amazon!
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