More of the music of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Reviews and Commentaries for The Firebird on Mercury
White Hot Front Row Center sound – amazingly lifelike. One listen to either side and you’ll know this is one of the top Mercury titles of all time. Dorati breathes life into the work as only he can.
So clear and ALIVE. Transparent, with huge hall space extending wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Zero compression.
Lifelike, immediate, front row center sound like few records you have ever heard.
Rich, sweet strings, especially for a Mercury.
These sides really gets quiet in places, a sure sign that all the dynamics of the master tape were protected in the mastering of this copy. Some of our favorite (and not so favorite) Mercury classical and orchestral recordings can be found here.
Table Setup
This is an excellent record for adjusting tracking weight, VTA, azimuth and the like. Classical music is really the ultimate test for proper turntable/arm/cartridge setup (and evaluation). A huge and powerful recording such as this quickly separates the men from the boys when it comes to the highest orchestral reproduction.
Recordings of this quality are the reason $10,000+ front ends exist in the first place. You don’t need to spend that kind of money to play this record, but if you do, this is the record that will show you what you got for your hard-earned dough.
Ideally you would want to work your setup magic at home with this record, then take it to a friend’s house and see if you can achieve the same results on his system. I’ve done this sort of thing for years. (Sadly, not so much anymore; nobody I know can play records like these the way we can. Playing and critically evaluating records all day, every day, year after year, you get pretty good at it. And the more you do it, the easier it gets.)
Properly set VTA is especially critical on this record, as it is on most classical recordings. The smallest change will dramatically affect the timbre, texture and harmonic information of the strings, as well as the rest of instruments of the orchestra.
Further Reading
