Mr. Hammoud, who had just joined Mercury in 1947, decided to try to convert some of their old 78 rpm (SP) records into LP (33.3 rpm) LP records for reissue. This The batch of old recordings included the "Dumbarton Oaks" Concerto conducted by Stravinsky himself. Unexpectedly, these old recordings, which were re-released under the Mercury trademark, gained a good reputation as soon as they were sold. In 1948, Ha Mr. Moder hired the famous recording critic Hall to run the newly established classical department. Soon they obtained the agency rights for German recordings during World War II in the United States. Most of these recordings were recorded from the radio, and the content of the album was very detailed. It was fresh and achieved good sales results.

What really made Mercury famous was the world premiere recording of Russian composer Khachaturian's Violin Concerto released in 1950. This concert was held in Held in the former Soviet Union, the legendary violin master David Oistrakh was the soloist at the time. Since the Russian side used inferior recording equipment that had long been eliminated by the West, the mastering effect was very unsatisfactory. Merctury obtained After receiving the release rights, the master tapes were handed over to recording engineer Robert Fine. The Reeves Sound Studio he hosted at the time was mainly responsible for handling Mercury's recording matters. Robert Fine lived up to his expectations and saved the project with a completely reborn effect. This is an important recording documenting the art of Oistrakh. The release of this record brought Mercury great attention in the world. The unprecedented market response further encouraged Mercury and strengthened their confidence in continuing to explore the classical market. Then As business conditions improved, Mercury established a long-term and close cooperative relationship with Robert Faun. Faun had been in charge of Mercury's most important recording projects from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. This section was later recorded The legendary "marriage" established Mercury's unique recording characteristics. Although Fawn has never been a staff member of Mercury, the name Fawn is almost synonymous with the eye-catching timbre and rich texture of Mercury's recordings, making him a popular choice among audiophiles. A visionary figure who was deeply fascinated by Mercury recording. In fact, Fine left Reeves Sound Studio in the early 1950s and formed his own company to engage in the research and development of film, television and related recording technology. After shouldering the responsibility of Mercury's recording, he founded He used a unique recording method. He was the first engineer in the world to use the Telefunken U-47 microphone. Due to its high sensitivity and wide frequency response, this tube condenser microphone was very consistent with his ideal orchestral tone. Later, This microphone almost became an indispensable protagonist of Mercury's "Living Presence" recording. In his first collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Fine's genius created a simple and effective recording method: he used only one microphone to record Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." This two-day recording took place in April 1951, with Kubelik as conductor. Fine hung a U-shaped tube about 25 feet above the podium. 47 microphone, this position was decided during the orchestra's rehearsal. He used the most explosive passages of the whole song to adjust the size of the signal. From the softness of "Tomb" to the violent climax of "Kiev Gate", the dynamics of this recording from beginning to end They are all unprocessed and without any additives or compression, faithfully conveying the timbre required by the conductor. Tubman, the famous music critic of the New York Times, exclaimed after listening to this historic recording: It feels like Listen to a live concert live! "Living Presence!" Mercury was so excited about Tubman's comment that they immediately chose the word in his review as the subtitle for a series of records. For a time, Mercury's "Living Presence" records not only ushered in a new era for the facsimile reproduction of sound, but also won unanimous applause from music critics and audiophiles, becoming a world-famous audiophile brand.

The single-point recording founded in Faen became popular After the global expansion, Mercury's records began to be fully stereophonic in 1955. They initially used 1/4-inch Ampex equipment. Later, based on the experience of film recording, Fine asked the Ampex factory to build a special semi-automatic equipment.

inch, three-track recorder. This equipment is very suitable for recording classical music, with amazing stereo positioning and sound field reproduction capabilities, so much so that this equipment eventually became the standard equipment for Mercury's "Living Presence" record recording. In terms of sound balance, most of Fine's recordings are still recorded with one microphone. Sometimes, in order to increase the expression of stereoscopic audio and video, he will add two microphones on both sides for assistance. Before the recording begins, Fine will waste time and effort. Find the focus of the sound so that each microphone overlaps like a beam of light and illuminates the orchestra. Finally, the best sound is recorded on an Ampex three-track recorder.

< p>Another major contribution Robert Fine brought to Mercury was his ground-breaking use of 35mm film film recording technology, which was widely used in the later stages of the Living Presence series. In fact, 35mm film film is better than traditional audio tapes It has sharper dynamics, clearer sound quality, sharper transient response, and almost no hissing noise. This advantage is reflected in Mercury's historic collection of original music and battlefields during the American Civil War. The sound effects were greatly reflected in "The Civil War" (film number: MERCURY 432591-2), and the terrifying and grand sound effects of the war scenes were vividly presented. In the early 1960s, Westrex film recording equipment officially joined Mercury's recording lineup , and participated in the recording in London, and even went on an expedition to Moscow.

In the recording history of Mercury Fever Tiandish, in addition to the recorder Fawn, another female hero connected with his name is also indispensable. Mention, she is producer Wilma Cozart. This music executive from Mississippi joined the Mercury classical department in 1950 and has a strong repertoire and artistic concept. According to her work in Dallas With experience working with orchestras such as Minneapolis, Cozart was well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of American orchestras. She quickly proposed a plan to create a set of orchestral music and try to cooperate with excellent local conductors and orchestras. In her With the help of Mercury, Mercury first collaborated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, then the Minneapolis Orchestra led by Durati and the Dietrich Symphony Orchestra led by Parry frequently participated in Mercury's recording projects.

1952 In 2001, Hanson, the chairman of the Eastman School of Music, signed an exclusive contract with Mercury to record works by American musicians. Later, the recording plan expanded to recordings by Fennier and the Eastman Brass Orchestra, and he participated in the production of a large number of records. It has always been on the TAS list and has become a veritable heavenly disc. Cozart's talent has made Mercury's position in the classical music market more stable.

In 1954, Mercury Company started to develop under his planning. We embarked on an unprecedentedly large recording project: recording the "1812 Overture" based on Tchaikovsky's original orchestral manuscript. Real church bells, cannons and a brass orchestra were used in the music. The recording was conducted in three venues , including live recordings of the bells and the roar of artillery fire at Yale University’s Memorial Tower and West Point Military Academy. The release of this record consolidated Mercury’s position in the audio and recording industries, and became a must-play demonstration disc to showcase new audio equipment at that time.

Beginning in 1950, Cozart frequently led Mercury's recording team to London, Vienna, Paris and Moscow, and collaborated closely with European orchestras and musicians, dramatically expanding Living Presence's repertoire. .In addition to selected recording venues, they are also equipped with special recording cars to ensure that Mercury's recordings can maintain consistently outstanding sound effects no matter where they are. With her unremitting efforts, Mercury has Barbirolli in its record catalog , Richter, Dupree, Puyana, Bashar, Guinness and Starck are the names of the world's top music masters. As a producer, Cozart also personally invested in the control of technology during recording. She and Fawn formed a golden partner and was responsible for the master tape modification work from three tracks to two tracks in the later stage of production. Due to her good artistic accomplishment and her participation in the entire recording process, the master tapes and record masters she produced were able to retain the original three-track recording features. The condensed precise positioning and huge dynamics carry out the Mercury recording philosophy founded by Fine. As time passes, 19

She married Fine in 1957. The working partners eventually got married and became a legend in the industry. Later, Cozart became the vice president of Mercury in the late 1950s and resigned in 1964 to concentrate on running the family.

In 1961, Mercury was acquired by the U.S. branch of Philips Records, the electronics giant, and became a member of the Polygram Universal Music Group, responsible for coordinating the distribution business of Philips classical music in the United States.

In 1967 , the last recording of the Living Presence series was announced, and it was the Rodrigo Guitar Concerto by guitar master Romero. Although the most glorious era of Mercury has gone, the sound quality and unique music of Living Presence are still distinguishable at the first listen. It has become an enviable classic in the history of recording and is still highly praised by audiophiles. Like the excellent recordings left by Decca and RCA back then, Mercury's Living Presence has an extremely balanced sound range, a very wide and deep sound field, and is quite Sharp dynamics and very three-dimensional and layered instrument positioning. The slight difference is that Mercury's recording image is said to be sharper, the texture of the instrument is stronger, the brightness of the tone is richer, and the slightly rough sound lines seem It can better demonstrate the Americans’ bold concept of audio aesthetics.