mpLIVE is a new download-only historical label that draws on the thousands of rare and unique off-air recordings held by the charity Music Preserved. Nearly all the great names, the ‘historic artists’, in every genre are represented, many in considerable depth, with repertoire they never recorded commercially. All mpLIVE releases are newly remastered to the highest possible standard, with the emphasis kept on the feel of the live performance: these are emphatically not manicured studio artefacts. They are living, involving experiences. Most have never been available before, even on ‘private’ labels.

The most significant collection in the archive of Music Preserved is that donated by the Earl of Harewood, former editor of Kobbé, but several other connoisseurs and collectors, among them recording engineers, have passed on their complete collections of broadcast live recordings. The first ten releases include Jon Vickers singing Handel’s Samson, Rafael Kubelík conducting Janácek’s Jenufa, Sir John Barbirolli conducting Vaughan Williams’s Fourth Symphony and the world premiere of Britten’s Gloriana – all landmark musical events that can now be re-lived and treasured.

All mpLIVE releases are accompanied by a PDF booklet that offers detailed background notes and (where possible) texts and translations. In accordance with the label’s charitable foundation, all profits will go towards making more of the archive available.