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MERCURY LIVING PRESENCE Anthology (recordings not available separately)
Mercury mono/stereo 478 3566 (51)
Mercury recordings still generate a certain frisson with collectors. The characteristic, up-front sound, distinctive from the early mono recordings (made with a single microphone) and a mark too of the stereo releases (made with just three microphones), amazes even today in its sheer vividness. Mercury’s bold ‘Living Presence’ logo and vibrant artwork made a tremendous impact in the 1950s and ’60s, and this handsome box set makes a fine tribute to the company, and above all to Wilma Cozart Fine, the remarkable recording director of Mercury records. This set includes Mercury’s first ever recording, Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, coupled to the second recording they made, Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1951) with, both Rafael Kubelík and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The realism of the Mussorgsky (in spite of some thinness in the top range of the strings) still has the power to astonish. The performance has great freshness with not a hint of routine anywhere; there are many subtleties, particularly as one picture or promenade is dovetailed into another. The orchestral virtuosity in Tuileries, Limoges and the Chicks’ ballet is brilliant but possesses Ravelian delicacy too; similarly the central section of Baba-Yaga has a gently sinister quality that is very telling. The Bartók coupling is most compelling too, with great intensity obtained from the opening bars and maintained throughout the performance. Kubelík’s complete Má Vlast dates from the following year and remains one of the freshest accounts committed to disc.
The rest of the CDs are in stereo, with the indefatigable Antal Dorati featuring in almost half the contents of the box. One forgets how many landmark LPs he made for Mercury. Included here are his famous explosive recordings of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Beethoven’s Wellington’s Victory (each with a fascinating documentary about the recording), his magical version of the complete Nutcracker and, almost above all, his recording of Stravinsky’s Firebird, which has never been matched in terms of spine-tingling vividness in both sound and music-making. His Petrushka and A Rite of Spring are hardly less impressive either, and he excelled in virtuoso colourful scores of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His performance of Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite is still the most exciting committed to disc, and the rest of his Prokofiev recordings included here – the Fifth Symphony and The Love for Three Oranges: Suite – are similarly gripping.
Dorati’s flair for colourful music is well displayed in his spontaneous-sounding Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies, Dvořák Slavonic Dances, and Brahms Hungarian Dances as well as in the Hungarian music of Kodály (the Háry János Suite and the Marosszék and Galánta Dances) and Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsodies. The Gayaneh ballet music of Khachaturian was well suited to this conductor, as was the music of Aaron Copeland; his recording of the latter caused quite a sensation when it first appeared, for its precision of detail and brilliance of colour. The gunshots, with their clean percussive transients in Billy the Kid remain electrifying. Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle receives a performance with more emphasis on power than mystery and features brilliant playing from the LSO. Mihály Székely as Bluebeard is taut and intense while Olga Szönyi, though more uneven, is strong and incisive. Excerpts from Berg’s Wozzeck follow on from the Bartók, and excellent they are too.
Dorati also accompanies an array of impressive soloists: Yehudi Menuhin in perhaps his finest version of the Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2; János Starker in a full-blooded account of the Dvořák Cello Concerto and an excellent account of the delightful Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1 (Starker also appears on a disc of baroque solo cello sonatas, the Bach Cello Sonatas, Brahms Cello Sonatas & 2 and Mendelssohn Cello Sonata No. 2 – all made when this artist was at his peak); Gina Bachauer’s impressive performances of the Chopin Piano Concertos are included and are notable in that in no other recordings of this repertoire have the orchestral accompaniments been given such a strong profile as they have under Dorati. These two artists are partnered again for a performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, and, if it is not among the finest accounts available on CD, it is still very good indeed; and again, in her account of the Emperor Concerto (conducted by Skrowaczewski), Bachauer admirably balances romantic power with classical elegance.
Henryk Szeryng appears in rather disappointing performances of the Brahms and Khachaturian Violin Concertos (even Dorati is not on top form here), though both are on better form for the Schumann and Mendelssohn Violin Concertos (Szeryng is also represented on a disc of ‘Violin favourites’, with pianist Charles Reiner, all most attractive and appealing). With Byron Janis, Dorati made a superb account of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto (with the LSO) and a very fine version of the Second (with the Minneapolis SO); Janis’s vivid solo piano account of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is also included and coupled with the familiar orchestral version with Dorati. Janis also appears on recordings made in Russia, notably the two Piano Concertos of Liszt (conducted by Kondrashin and Rozhdestvensky respectively) – still top recommendations today. He also provides comparably riveting accounts of the Prokofiev No. 3 and Rachmaninov No. 1 (both with Kondrashin). He was no less successful in his London recordings of Schumann’s Piano Concerto (a lovely performance, conducted by Skrowaczewski, another consistently excellent Mercury conductor) and the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto (conducted by Menges), in which Janis dazzles in the same way he does in his Rachmaninov recordings.
Gina Bachauer’s performance of Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit features the poems which inspired the music (by Aloysius Bertrand) read by Sir John Gielgud, and this partnership is coupled to her sympathetic performances of Debussy and Stravinsky. Her account of Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto (with Skrowaczewski and the LSO) is very sympathetic if not quite among the best available. Stanisław Skrowaczewski also directs a sometimes wilful but always exciting performance of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony (with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra) and his accounts of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet suites are well characterized and gripping.
Howard Hanson was both an excellent conductor and and excellent composer, and the Mercury box includes a CD of his own highly attractive music, which is melodic, inventive and beautifully coloured, while another disc combines his vibrant performances of Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite (with its spectacular Cloudburst) and Mississippi Suite, coupled to Victor Herbert’s pleasing Cello Concerto No. 2 (with Georges Miquelle). His ‘Fiesta in Hi-Fi’ recording is remarkable for its vividness, but the dry, up-front sound balance is a drawback (the recordings date from 1956–9). However, the disc features interestingly rare repertoire, including Gineastera’s Overture to the Creole ‘Faust’. Paul Paray made many remarkable recordings for Mercury, galvanizing his Detroit sessions with his distinctive (and now almost extinct) French style of conducting. The three Auber overtures receive scintillating performances which have never been surpassed in terms of sheer joie de vivre, and they are coupled with Suppé overtures similarly imbued with a Gallic spirit. His excitingly hard-pressed Symphonie fantastique is full of passionate, mercurial neurosis which may be over-the-top for some listeners, but the other Berlioz items come off with comparable electricity. It is a pity that only two of his CDs feature in this set.
Mercury sometimes went ‘off-piste’ in its choice of repertoire, and the first recording they made in Russia (in fact, the first recording ever made in the Soviet Union by an American company), ‘Balalaika Favourites’, is irresistible in its vitality and heart-on-sleeve tunes. Indeed, this is one of the unexpected surprises in the Mercury catalogue and is completely captivating. The guitar quartet The Romeros are represented on two CDs, one a varied and colourful programme of mainly Spanish guitar music, balanced by some delightful pieces from the baroque repertoire; the other offers concertos (mainly arrangements of Vivaldi), with Angel Romero having the solo in the justly famous Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez. Pepe Romero also has a CD all to himself in his 1962 recital ‘Flamenco!’ and this, like the other CDs featuring The Romeros, offers characteristically vivid sound.
Mercury made several recordings of wind-band music with the Eastman Wind Ensemble under Frederick Fennell, of which Gordon Jacob’s William Byrd Suite is particularly piquant. The ensemble’s discs of Sousa and circus marches, ‘Screamers’, have a rip-roaring, explosive energy which is almost shattering. ‘Hi-Fi a la Española and Popovers’, also conducted by Fennell, with the Eastman-Rochester Pops Orchestra, is similarly arresting in its music-making, with Benjamin’s engaging Jamaican Rumba contrasting with more red-blooded numbers such as Texidor’s Amparito Roca. An imposing Finlandia, along with other more ‘classical’ pieces, complete the rest of that CD, where Dinicu’s Hora Staccato will raise an affectionate smile. No doubt designed to show off Mercury’s technical prowess, ‘The Civil War, its Music and its Sounds’ remains striking technically, enjoyable musically and certainly entertaining.
The excellent booklet gives us detailed essays on some of these unique recordings, such as ‘The Civil War, its Music and its Sounds’ and ‘Mercury Living Presence Goes to Russia’. And a bonus CD features a short interview with Wilma Cozart Fine, the label’s recording director, whom we had an opportunity to meet personally when she came to England to supervise the transfer of the label’s LP recordings to CD.
She told us how, in her relative youth, as just plain Wilma Cozart, but with a university major in music, she went into the company’s HQ and offered her services to set up a classical label. She was welcomed with open arms and given a batch of classical tapes for which she was asked to arrange sleeve notes and artwork. She soon returned to suggest that the tapes were of poor quality and would do the company’s reputation no good, particularly as in Bob Fine they had a first-class recording engineer who was already making spectacular recordings of popular music. She suggested that at that time several of America’s most famous orchestras, including those in Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit, who were not then under contract to any of the major recording labels, could between them, and with others added later, create a special kind of new classical repertoire.
So it was that she and Bob Fine formed a partnership to make records of the highest quality that were soon to make Mercury famous as a source of classical as well as popular repertoire. Moreover, Fine created a new stereo recording system that used only three microphones to capture the whole orchestra, and the results were astonishingly natural and realistic. The Mercury achievement astonished the recording world, and to set the seal on their relationship Wilma and Bob made it personal when they later married.
水星唱片至今仍能让收藏家们心潮澎湃。其标志性的近场录音特质——早期单麦克风单声道录音与仅用三支麦克风的立体声录音——即便在今天，那惊人的鲜活感仍令人叹服。水星唱片大胆的"真实在场"标识与充满活力的封面艺术在1950-60年代影响深远，这套精美的盒装专辑既是对厂牌的崇高致敬，更是对水星唱片传奇录音总监威尔玛·科扎特·法恩的至高礼赞。
盒装收录了水星首张录音——穆索尔斯基《图画展览会》与紧随其后的第二张录音——巴托克《弦乐、打击乐与钢片琴音乐》（1951年），均由拉斐尔·库贝利克指挥芝加哥交响乐团完成。穆索尔斯基录音的临场感（尽管弦乐高音区略显单薄）至今仍具震撼力。演奏充满新鲜感毫无陈腐气息，诸多精妙处理尤其在画作场景与漫步主题的衔接处展现无遗。《杜伊勒里花园》《利莫日集市》与《雏鸡芭蕾》中乐团既展现炫技华彩又不失拉威尔式的细腻；《巴巴亚加》中段那隐隐的阴森气质同样入木三分。巴托克作品同样扣人心弦，从起始小节就迸发的强烈张力贯穿全曲。库贝利克次年录制的《我的祖国》全集至今仍是该曲目最富朝气的唱片版本。
其余CD均为立体声录音，孜孜不倦的安塔尔·多拉蒂几乎参与了半数曲目。人们常遗忘他为水星录制的众多里程碑式黑胶唱片：包括柴可夫斯基《1812序曲》与贝多芬《威灵顿的胜利》那著名的爆炸性录音（每张均附录音纪实文档）；充满魔力的全本《胡桃夹子》；以及至今在音响性与演绎鲜活度上仍无匹敌的斯特拉文斯基《火鸟》。他的《彼得鲁什卡》与《春之祭》同样令人难忘，在19-20世纪色彩性炫技作品领域堪称大师。普罗科菲耶夫《斯基泰组曲》的演绎仍是唱片史上最激动人心的版本，同辑收录的《第五交响曲》与《三橘爱》组曲同样摄人心魄。
多拉蒂对色彩性音乐的敏锐在以下作品中展露无遗：李斯特《匈牙利狂想曲》、德沃夏克《斯拉夫舞曲》、勃拉姆斯《匈牙利舞曲》中自然流露的即兴感；科达伊《哈里·亚诺什》组曲与《马罗采克舞曲》《加兰塔舞曲》的匈牙利风情；以及埃内斯库《罗马尼亚狂想曲》。哈恰图良《加雅涅》芭蕾音乐与阿隆·科普兰作品正合其风格——后者录音因细节精准与色彩绚烂初版时即引起轰动，《比利小子》中干净利落的枪击瞬态仍令人战栗。巴托克《蓝胡子城堡》的演绎更侧重力量而非神秘感，伦敦交响乐团演奏辉煌。米哈伊·塞凯伊饰演的蓝胡子紧张而激烈，奥尔加·索约妮虽不稳定却强劲犀利。紧随其后的贝尔格《沃采克》选段同样出色。
多拉蒂还合作过众多杰出独奏家：耶胡迪·梅纽因演绎巴托克《第二小提琴协奏曲》（可能是其最佳版本）；亚诺什·施塔克充满激情的德沃夏克《大提琴协奏曲》与精彩的圣-桑《第一号大提琴协奏曲》（施塔克还出现在巴洛克大提琴独奏奏鸣曲专辑中，收录巴赫、勃拉姆斯大提琴奏鸣曲及门德尔松《第二号大提琴奏鸣曲》——均录制于其艺术巅峰期）；吉娜·芭娇尔演绎的肖邦钢琴协奏曲令人印象深刻，其独特价值在于多拉蒂指挥下乐队伴奏获得了前所未有的突出地位。这两位艺术家还合作了贝多芬《第四钢琴协奏曲》，虽非该曲目最佳唱片版本但仍属上乘；芭娇尔在《皇帝协奏曲》（斯克罗瓦切夫斯基指挥）中完美平衡了浪漫力量与古典优雅。
亨利克·谢林与多拉蒂合作的勃拉姆斯与哈恰图良小提琴协奏曲略显平淡（即便多拉蒂也未达最佳状态），但二人演绎的舒曼与门德尔松小提琴协奏曲更为出色（谢林还出现在与钢琴家查尔斯·莱纳合作的"小提琴名曲集"中，曲目皆引人入胜）。拜伦·贾尼斯与多拉蒂合作的拉赫玛尼诺夫《第三钢琴协奏曲》（伦敦交响乐团）堪称典范，《第二号》（明尼阿波利斯交响乐团）同样优秀；贾尼斯独奏的穆索尔斯基《图画展览会》鲜活生动，与多拉蒂指挥的管弦乐版本相得益彰。贾尼斯的俄罗斯录音同样耀眼，特别是李斯特两首钢琴协奏曲（分别由康德拉辛与罗日杰斯特文斯基指挥）至今仍是首选推荐。他与康德拉辛合作的普罗科菲耶夫《第三钢琴协奏曲》与拉赫玛尼诺夫《第一钢琴协奏曲》同样扣人心弦。他在伦敦录制的舒曼《钢琴协奏曲》（斯克罗瓦切夫斯基指挥的动人演绎）与柴可夫斯基《钢琴协奏曲》（门格斯指挥）中展现的炫目技巧，与其拉赫玛尼诺夫录音如出一辙。
吉娜·芭娇尔演绎拉威尔《夜之幽灵》时特别收录了激发音乐灵感的贝特朗原诗朗诵（约翰·吉尔古德爵士献声），该专辑还包含她诠释的德彪西与斯特拉文斯基作品。她与斯克罗瓦切夫斯基及伦敦交响乐团合作的勃拉姆斯《第二钢琴协奏曲》虽非最顶尖版本但仍富感染力。斯克罗瓦切夫斯基指挥的肖斯塔科维奇《第五交响曲》（明尼阿波利斯交响乐团）时而任性却始终激动人心，其普罗科菲耶夫《罗密欧与朱丽叶》芭蕾组曲同样个性鲜明引人入胜。
霍华德·汉森身兼杰出指挥家与作曲家，盒装中收录其旋律优美、创意十足且配器精妙的原创作品专辑；另有一张唱片结合其演绎的格罗菲《大峡谷组曲》（含震撼的"暴雨"段落）与《密西西比组曲》，搭配维克多·赫伯特悦耳的《第二号大提琴协奏曲》（乔治·米凯尔独奏）。其《高保真节日》录音以鲜活著称，但1956-59年录音的干涩近场声平衡是个缺憾。不过该碟收录了希纳斯特拉《克里奥尔浮士德序曲》等罕见曲目。保罗·帕雷为水星录制的众多唱片以其独特（如今几近绝迹）的法式指挥风格激活底特律乐团。奥柏三首序曲的演绎闪耀着无可超越的生命欢愉，与同样充满高卢精神的苏佩序曲相映成趣。他那令人窒息的《幻想交响曲》充满神经质的炽烈激情或许过于极端，但其他柏辽兹作品同样电力十足。可惜本套装仅收录其两张CD。
水星唱片偶尔会涉足冷门曲目，其在苏联录制的首张专辑《巴拉莱卡琴名曲集》（实为美国公司在苏首录）以扑面而来的活力与直抒胸臆的旋律令人无法抗拒，堪称目录中最意外的惊喜。罗梅罗吉他四重奏占据两张CD：一张是以西班牙吉他音乐为主的多彩曲目，搭配巴洛克精品；另一张主要为维瓦尔第改编协奏曲，安赫尔·罗梅罗独奏的罗德里戈《阿兰胡埃斯协奏曲》正当其名。佩佩·罗梅罗1962年独奏专辑《弗拉门戈！》与其他罗梅罗家族唱片一样具有标志性鲜活音效。
水星唱片与伊士曼管乐团在弗雷德里克·芬尼尔指挥下录制多张管乐作品，其中戈登·雅各布的《威廉·伯德组曲》尤具风味。该乐团《尖叫者——苏萨与马戏团进行曲》专辑爆裂般的能量近乎骇人。芬尼尔指挥伊士曼-罗切斯特通俗乐团的《西班牙高保真与流行甜点》同样惊艳，本杰明迷人的《牙买加伦巴》与特克西多尔《安帕里托·罗卡》等热血曲目形成反差。该CD还收录庄严的《芬兰颂》等"古典"曲目，迪尼库《霍拉断奏曲》必令听者会心一笑。为展示技术实力而制的《内战之声乐与音效》至今仍以技术冲击力、音乐性与娱乐性取胜。
精美手册详细解析了《内战之声乐与音效》《水星真实在场在苏联》等独特录音。附赠CD收录对厂牌录音总监威尔玛·科扎特·法恩的简短访谈——我们曾有幸在她赴英监督黑胶转CD工程时面晤。
她回忆道：初出茅庐时，仅是音乐专业毕业的威尔玛·科扎特主动请缨为公司创立古典厂牌。在获得一批古典录音带负责文案设计后，她很快指出这些劣质录音将损害公司声誉——尤其当时他们已拥有顶级录音师鲍勃·法恩（曾录制轰动性的流行音乐）。她提议签约芝加哥、明尼阿波利斯、底特律等当时未被大厂垄断的美国顶尖乐团，共同打造独特的新古典曲库。
于是她与鲍勃·法恩结成搭档，制作的极品唱片很快使水星成为古典与流行领域的标杆。法恩创新的三麦克风立体声系统录制出的自然真实效果震惊业界。两人后来结为夫妻，为这段传奇添上圆满注脚。
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Mercury Living Presence Vol.1 [Flac分轨]等6个文件(夹)
Mercury Living Presence Vol.1-3各提供两个版本，各位酌情选择。 |
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发表于 2025-7-21 07:55
。Nasox完全复刻了EMI，包括了bonus的音轨，但缺第44轨，大概文件名太长被吞掉了，麻烦楼主检查一下，谢谢！