Hall remained at Mercury Records until 1956 as classic music director. Under his leadership, Mercury began releasing its notable "Living Presence" series of classical recordings. Hall worked closely with sound engineering pioneer, C. Robert Fine. Fine's mobile sound studio toured the midwest, recording performances by the Detroit, Louisville, and Minneapolis symphonies and musical groups at the Eastman School at the University of Rochester. A 1955 recording of the Minneapolis Symphony performing Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" under the baton of Antal Doráti became the best selling classical record of the decade.