JANOS STARKER - "Schumann and Lalo Cello Concertos" Mercury Living Presence 1962 1st Pressing Promo!

"Schumann rapidly composed his Cello Concerto in only two weeks during an extremely productive creative phase. Its first performance was quite another story. Although the piece was written "first and foremost for this beautiful instrument," no cellist from Frankfurt had shown interest in the piece, but then declined to play it after Schumann had refused to comply with his wishes for certain changes. This led to the unfortunate fact that Schumann did not live to see the work's premiere. Things went quite differently with Edouard Lalo, who described himself as a self-taught composer; an excellent cellist himself, Lalo could be sure that his work would be heard in the concert hall. Both works are connected by the pioneering attempt to establish the cello as a solo instrument in concert life in the 19th century. Right from the fifth bar of the Schumann concerto Janos Starker is able to display his mastership in the expansive main theme. In the Lalo too he demonstrates his absolute virtuosity.

"Starker's focused tone and intense style of playing - this isn't a sloppy sort of romanticism - is captured by a recording manifesting natural balances between soloist and orchestra. Tonally, sonics are not particularly bright, as some might expect from Mercury. Skrowaczewski's alert and carefully shaped accompaniment is reproduced with good detail and depth." - Andy Quint, The Absolute Sound

"If you can ignore the tape hiss these Mercury Living Presence recordings of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra would be among the finest ever made. Along with the tape hiss, Mercury's engineering captured every nuance of the performances with a clarity and lucidity that few later recordings could match." - AMG.

This LP is a Mercury Living Presence Stereo recording from 1962.

This is a very rare "Promotional Copy - Not For Sale".

This LP is a 1st Pressing with RFR-1/RFR-1 as part of the Matrix.

This series is highly regarded by Audiophiles as being some of the finest recordings ever made, even by today's standards and techniques.
These recordings are considered to be of true Audiophile quality.

The record is Exc++.
The jacket is NM-.
The LP plays/sounds Mint+.

This is a "Promotional" premium pressing - very rare. The overall Mercury "sound" is present but with a warmer mid-range and slightly more transparent high's. Massed strings are sweet with no edge or hardness, the soundstage is wide and deep and imaging is very strong. Instruments have more "air" and presence and have a strongly defined "space". The toanla colors and detail of the Cello capture every minute piece of sonic information down tho the vibrations of the soundboard. The Cello sounds like it is real and immediately in front of you - as if you were seated 1st Row Center.
There is almost NO surface noise at all. On Side I it is so faint it will depend largely on your system if you can hear any at all. Side II has 5 audible low-level 'ticks' and a few 'crackles' which are barely audible.
This is one of the most 'Perfect' Mercury's I have heard in a long time.

Each record is washed on a VPI cleaning machine using a proprietary 3-5 agent process which is determined by the needs of the individual record. Each record is then listened to 100% to insure that the posted description is exactly what you can expect to get.

NOTE! Purchase any 3 or more of my LP's together and get 10% off the order as well as savings on shipping! Just click on "More From This Seller" to see a full listing.

Please Note! Shipping costs are for continental US ONLY. All others should request a shipping estimate before placing your order.

0612