Beloved 3LP Mercury Living Presence Stereo Classic Now Cut As Dynamic 45RPM 200g 6LP-Set Directly from the Original 3-track, First-Generation Master Tapes!

János Starker's definitive recording and performance of these vaunted works by J.S. Bach was originally released as a 3LP Mercury Living Presence Stereo (SR3-9016), with original mint copies commanding hundreds of dollars on the preowned LP market. One of the 20th century's most renowned cellists, Starker epitomized refined elegance and superbly subtle bow work. His recording of the Suites from 1965 makes a lasting impression on the listener, his full-bodied sound and technical brilliance are complemented by a finely chiseled interpretation that lends immense expression to Bach's thrilling harmony and verve to the strict rhythmic construction of the movements.

These newly remastered Mercury Living Presence reissue LPs represent the state of the art of all-analog technology and production. Led by remastering supervisor Thomas Fine, son of high-fidelity recording pioneers C. Robert Fine and Wilma Cozart Fine of Fine Recording Inc. in New York City, these reissues were cut at 45 RPM directly from first-generation 3-track master tapes. A 3-2 channel mix was made directly to the cutting lathe, no "cutting master" tape stage, digital source or digital delay was used.

Thomas Fine made the 3-2 mixes with mastering engineer Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound's new facility in Nashville, TN. Smith manually controlled groove margin and depth on his Neumann VMS-80 lathe, working with no preview signal and bypassing the lathe's margin-control computer. In doing so, he cut these sides the same way the original LP was cut by George Piros, who was Fine Recording Inc's VP and head of mastering. As with the original LP, no "sweetening" equalization or dynamic range control was used.

This 200g 6LP set, cut at 45 RPM, allows for the full dynamics present on the master tapes to shine through masterfully, as the wider-spaced grooves across the six sides, instead of three, let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings and housed in a glossy lid-style box reproducing the original artwork.

Musicians:
Johann Sebastian Bach, composer
Janos Starker, cello

Features:
• 3LP Mercury Living Presence Stereo classic now cut as 45RPM 200-gram 6LP set
• Cut directly from the original 3-track, first-generation master tapes
• Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound using an AMPEX ATR-100 Tape Machine customized with 3-track flux magnetics heads
• Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings
• Housed in a glossy lid-style box reproducing the original artwork