Pardon my ignorance,but did EMI buy out the Pye/Nixa catalogue,or just the Barbirolli stuff ? While Mercury issued some of it,most of it,was issued on Vanguard.There was also,the Nixa/Pye/Wetminster axis.All of which,is just as confusing,as the Columbia/EMI/Philips business,which I have yet to completely figure out.
Roger Kulp
Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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"
To:
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"
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 doncox@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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