# The Classics



## RedRaider (Jan 16, 2021)

Recently acquired a NEARLY complete(?) set of classical music reels to compliment my personal classical collection. I'm sharing what I know about them here so that perhaps someone can help me put the pieces of the puzzle together. So, if you know anything about them, please feel free to chime in and school me on what you know. Or, if you have questions that's ok too.

All the boxes and reels are in pretty nice shape. I just have 1 reel that's missing a sequential label, and, there are 2 gaps in the sequence. So, the goal is to determine which gap my reel with the missing label belongs to, and then find the 1 missing tape (or more?) to complete the set.

The set appears to be a series call "The Classics" featuring some of the best-known composers of all time: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, De Alba, Haydn, Liszt, Mozart, Ravel, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, & Wordsworth... and with 1 missing reel, there may very well be 1 or 2 more composers missing from the list.

It seems that there were 24 tapes. Possibly more. Of my 23 reels, 22 tapes have sequential labels either on the spines and/or on the reel labels, and 1 tape is missing a sequential label. The labels run from 1001-1024. I have 2 gaps: 1005, 1020. The unlabeled tape is believed to be one of those two. So, presumably 1 tape is missing out of the first 24 installments (presumably) with an unknown number of later installments followed if any at all. Anyway, it just seemed like a really nice classical reel set to have to compliment my classical library. So, I went all in on it and so far so good. Just hoping to figure out the puzzle so I can try to track down the missing reel and complete the set.

None of the boxes say what company produced the tapes. There is just the name "The Classics." Quite possibly it was a subscription service (probably via TV commercial or magazine ad) that sold one reel per month over a period of time. One cool thing about this series is that most of the boxes and all of the reels have labels/stickers specifically stating Dolby Systems. So, I'm guessing these tapes are probably from the late 70's or early 80's.

Some of the reels/boxes don't say who performed the music, but in many cases, it's the the Nuremberg, Suddeutsche, and Bamberg symphony orchestras.

Here's a list of each reel that I currently have:

1001: BACH:
Violin Concerto in A Minor,
Concerto for Harpsichords & Orchestra in D Minor,
Violin Concerto in E Major

1002: BACH:
Orchestral Suite No 2 in B Minor,
Symphony in G Major (Opus 6) Bamberg Symphony; 
Symphony in B Major,
Bamberg Symphony.

1003: BEETHOVEN:
Piano Concerto No 1 in C Major (Opus 15) & 
Piano concerto No. 2 in B Flat Major (Opus 19)

1004: BEETHOVEN:
Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat Major "The Emperor",
Nuremburg Symphony; and
Seven Bagatelles (Opus 33), Hanae Nakajima.

1006: RAVEL:
Mirrors,
Nakajima;
Carnival of the Animals

1007: SCHUBERT:
Symphony No. 5 in B Flat Major &
Symphony No. 4 in C Minor.

1008: SCHUBERT:
8th Symphony in B Minor (unfinished)1,
Suddeutsche Philharmonic;
Moments Musicaux, Ernst Groschel.

1009: TCHAIKOVSKY,
Symphony No. 6 in B Minor "Pathetique", 
Vienna Opera Orchestra.

1010: TCHAIKOVSKY/WORDSWORTH:
A01 - Serenade for Strings in C Major (Tchaikovsky)
A02 - South Germany Philharmonic (Tchaikovsky)
B01 - Prelude w/ Orchestral Accompaniment
B02 - There Was a Boy: Schubert Symp No. 5
B03 - Skatings-Friends and Games
B04 - Symphony No. 5/Three Preludes
B05 - Symphony No. 4/Seventeen
B06 - Symphony No. 5/Ullwater
B07 - Symphony No. 4/Each Man Is a Memory
B08 - Symphony No. 4/Horses
B09 - Symphony No. 5/Prospect in the Mind
B10 - Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6
James Alexander Gordon/Narrator

1011: STRAUSS:
Morning Papers,
Tales from the Vienna Woods,
Voices of Spring,
On the Beautiful Blue Danube,
The Gypsy Baron.

1012: BEETHOVEN:
Symphony No. 6 in F Major "The Pastoral" & 
Polonaise in C Major

1013: BEETHOVEN:
Triple Concerto in C Major,
Coriolan Overture in C Minor,
Egmont Overture in F Minor

1014: BEETHOVEN:
Violin Concerto in D Major,
Violin concerto in D Major,
Sonota No. 14 in C Sharp Major.

1015: CHOPIN:
Polonaise in A Major,
Berceause in D Flat Major,
Etude in G Flat Major,
Prelude in D Flat Major,
Impromptu in C Sharp,
Polonaise in C Sharp Minor,
Scherzo No. 2 in B Flat Minor,
Etude in C Minor,
Nocturne No. 2 in E Flat Major

1016: HAYDN:
Symphony No. 97 in C Major,
Symphony No. 104 in D Major

1017: HAYDN:
Symphony No 94 in G Major,
Symphony No 101 in D Major,
Fantasia in C Major, 
Suddeutsche Philharmonic.

1018: LISZT:
Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major,
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 Symphonic Poem "Tasso"

1019: MOZART:
Symphony 35 in D Major,
Divertimento in D Major,
Divertimento in D Major,
Divertimento in F Major.

1021: SCHUBERT:
The Trout Quintet

1022: SCHUMANN, BRAHMS:
Symphony No. 1 in B Flat Major &
(Schumann)
Academic Festival Overture (Opus 80)
(Brahms)
Tragic Overture
(Brahms)

1023: STRAUSS:
Favorite Waltzes From Vienna's Waltz King, Vol. II

1024: DE ALBA:
Fingers of Gold (Flamenco Guitar Classics), 
Juanillo De Alba

(missing label; possibly 1005 or 1020): SCHUBERT:
Symphony No. 2 in B Flat Major,
Nuremberg; &
Symphony No. 3 in D Major,
South Germany Philharmonic.

==========================================

BREAKDOWN:

Bach. (2 reels)
Beethoven. (5 reels)
Brahms. (1/2 reel)
Chopin. (1 reel)
De Alba. (1 reel)
Haydn. (2 reels)
Liszt. (1 reel)
Mozart. (1 reel)
Ravel. (1 reel)
Schubert. (4 reels)
Schumann. (1/2 reel)
Strauss. (2 reels)
Tchaikovsky. (1.5 reels)
Wordsworth. (1/2 reel)
======================================


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I can't tell you much about these tapes, RR, but I'm guessing some of these recordings are something to do with Alfred Scholz (link below). Anything with the fictional orchestra titles 'South German Philharmonic Orchestra' or 'Sueddeutsche Philharmonic Orchestra' are recordings put together by the legendary charlatan, Scholz.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/730309-S%C3%BCddeutsche-Philharmonie


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## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Many years ago when I was round at a schoolfriend's house he put on his mum's LP of Mozart's D minor concerto. I asked to look at the sleeve and he was puzzled when I started laughing, till I said the conductor's name out loud: Wilhelm Havagesse.


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## RedRaider (Jan 16, 2021)

Interesting. Never heard of him or his orchestra. Kind of intriguing such a sketchy figure could end up on a catalog release. Not on all reels, but at least some.


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## RedRaider (Jan 16, 2021)

:lol:
Yeah that's quite a name.


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## Malx (Jun 18, 2017)

I am very surprised to see James Alexander Gordons name as a narrator on the Tchaikovsky/Wordsworth - he was really known as being the guy who read out the football (soccer) results on BBC Radio.


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