Super Audio CD’s Mercury Living Presence Grows

In a significant move that will allow some of the last century’s most important classical recordings to be heard for the first time as they were recorded, Decca Classics has announced the release of a further five albums from its Mercury Living Presence Collection on Super Audio CD.

This August will see the release of Mussorgsky: Pictures at an exhibition (Byron Janis, piano & orchestral version with Minnesota/Dorati); Schumann & Lalo Cello Concertos (Janos Starker); Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique (Detroit Symphony/Paul Paray); Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker & Serenade for Strings (London Symphony/Dorati) and Music of Leroy Anderson (Frederick Fennell/ Eastman-Rochester Orchestra) in their original 3-channel recording format.

These new releases are quite unlike anything heard before, and are the product of a major restoration and conservation project at Universal Music’s Emil Berliner Studios in Hanover, where they were working with the original tapes, and in some cases 35mm film. The project has engaged several leading audio technologists, notably Andrew Wedman. Wilma Cozart Fine has also been involved in the Mercury Living Presence Super Audio CD project.

“These are not surround mixes in the modern sense,” explains Universal Music’s Raymond McGill. “They are 3-channel recordings and the significance of their Super Audio CD release is that, for the first time, they are being heard as they were originally recorded. Until the appearance of Super Audio CD these recordings were heard simply as stereo.”

These five new releases will be numbers 15 to 20 in the Mercury Living Presence Series on Super Audio CD, which Decca has re-mastered to Super Audio CD. The first 10 titles were released in August 2004 and a further five were added last month. “Critical reaction has been pretty unanimous in praise of these Super Audio CD releases from both consumers and press reviews,” commented McGill. “The significance and a major advantage of Super Audio CD in this case is the ability to release music as 3-channel, as it was originally intended to be heard.”