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Re: [ARSCLIST] Mercury co-founder Irving Green passes



Who put them out on CD? Did they revert back to the European original copyright owner? Mercury may have leased them for XX years or for US market only back in the day. I really don't know anything about those pre-original releases.

There's still one more twist in the Mercury classical history. Some of the material original done by Mercury by arrangements with other companies reverted out of Philips hands after a certain amount of time. For instance, the Halle/Barbirolli recordings, which were owned by Pye and eventually EMI and were put out on CD from Pye's master tapes. Another example was the Ricordi opera recordings, which were put out on CD by EMI. Last I checked, most or all of the Halle recordings were no longer in print from EMI but some were on compilations put out by the Barbirolli Society. I do not know the status of the operas, which were originally put out by EMI in the late 1980s, but I suspect some or all are out of print now.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- From: "Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 5:39 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Mercury co-founder Irving Green passes



The Ehrling Sibelius Symphonies are so good that I hunted them down on CD. It's still my favorite 4th, the gritiest and, I think, along with Luonotar, the greatest of of his works.

Steve Smolian

---- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
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" <thorenstd124@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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 <doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 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
doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



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