Date:         Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:25:08 -0700
Reply-To:     Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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Sender:       Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
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From:         Roger and Allison Kulp <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Re: Mercury co-founder Irving Green passes
Comments: To: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
In-Reply-To:  <000701c6a3a1$82e892e0$2f01a8c0@smoliano2w7958>
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Refresh my memory.What was Hall's connection to RCA ?
  Roger Kulp

Steven Smolian <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
  The fellow who put this earlier line together was David Hall. The 
Scandinavian and Czech material is deep in wonderful performances. Many 
musicians had close links to the authentic performing traditions of many of 
the represented composers. There is also a Hans Rosbaud group including one 
of the Brahms Serenades. Identification errors are not unheard of, mostly 
on the German items. The early LP years were a wild west of expanding 
repertory and depsperate post-World War II European musicians slugging it 
out for gigs. Classic Record Collector has been writing up some of the 
early companies and personalities. There's a long way to go.

Steve Smolian


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Fine" 
To: 
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 5:23 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Mercury co-founder Irving Green passes


> Hi Roger:
>
> The guy who probably knows most about this is Michael Gray. I know very 
> little about pre-original Mercury classical records. They were mostly 
> taken out of print quickly after Mercury started rolling their own. I have 
> a few of them from the very dawn of LPs. They're in 78-style album jackets 
> and seem to be made of shellac or something much thicker and heavier and 
> less flexible than typical vinyl. I've never played them, just keep them 
> for historical reasons. Not even sure what titles I have since they're 
> deep in the shelves.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Roger and Allison Kulp" 
> To: 
> Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 2:37 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Mercury co-founder Irving Green passes
>
>
>>I was going through my pre-Living Presence Mercury Classics 
>>Lps,yesterday,and I had forgotten,they had put out the (only ?)US 
>>pressings,of the early Sixten Erhling, Swedish Lps.The ones that predate 
>>the EMI monos.(I own two of these.)But one noteworthy record I own,is the 
>>Mercury-sourced,American Broadcasting Company Quartet,recording of "Death 
>>and The Maiden".A quick Google,only mentions the recordings with Reginald 
>>Kell,who is obviously not part of this record.I am not sure if this has 
>>ever been reissued.
>> Roger Kulp
>>
>> Don Cox wrote:
>> On 07/07/06, Tom Fine wrote:
>>> You are correct. There were probably 50 more CD's that could have been
>>> done (perhaps more if one considered being completist on the mono
>>> stuff, which was an unlikely track because there was specific and
>>> limited interest in the pre-1956 catalog and that interest was
>>> addressed with the handful of mono reissues). Universal decided to
>>> discontinue the reissues in 2000 after scaling back the previous two
>>> releases. Many of the titles are still in print in the US but seem to
>>> be taken out of print in most other markets, which is pretty idiotic
>>> since they sold extremely well in the Orient and Europe. A good
>>> classical issue is like an annuity -- keep it in print and it will
>>> keep sending checks to the home office.
>>>
>>> While there are probably some on this list who are passionate about
>>> small-group and chamber music, in Mercury's case it never sold as well
>>> as the orchestral and band recordings, so it was considered at the
>>> bottom of the pile for reissues. Solo and concerto stuff like Janos
>>> Starker and Byron Janis were big sellers originally and were big
>>> sellers on CD. Point is, the reissue was a commercial undertaking (and
>>> was very profitable), so what was reissued and in what order was
>>> considered very carefully.
>>
>> It seems to me it is time some of the classic recordings (in all genres)
>> were recognised as cultural treasures, so that reissues like these could
>> be subsidised by UNESCO, the big Foundations, or Governments in various
>> countries, just as art galleries and opera houses are subsidised.
>>
>> While there may sometimes be a profit to be made from reissues, often
>> there is not. Or only enough to support a one-man-and-dog record company,
>> with consequent poor distribution.
>>
>> There are many recordings that should be permanently available to all,
>> in the highest possible engineering quality, for the same reason that
>> anyone can walk into the National Gallery and look at the pictures.
>>
>> Regards
>> -- 
>> Don Cox
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>>
>> ---------------------------------
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>
>
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