[78-L] Victor G series

[Sean Miller]

I picked up several of these in a collection a few years ago, all from old unsold stock.  The albums are much flimsier then standard red seal albums, thin covers etc.  Not sure which ones I have, but they're all on nice prewar pressings, some I remember have the circle VE in the dead wax.

Sean (I'm back!)

On Mar 08, 2012, at 07:39 AM, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca> wrote:


I'm not sure of the exact dates for this series, but it was probably just after 
the surprising success of the budget albums which Victor recorded and pressed 
but which were distributed by newspapers in 1938-39. Most of the albums were 
reissues of old recordings but the Nutcracker Suite (Goossens) and Unfinished 
Symphony (Walter) were only a couple of years old. There were also black label 
ten-inchers of singles by Galli Curci, Menuhin, Caruso (yep!) etc. Decca had 
been issuing low priced classical records on red label for a few years, 
absolutely bare bones (no albums), and some of them were superior to the 
European pressings (the Walton Symphony, for one). I'm pretty sure this whole 
enterprise predates Columbia's dropping of the price for classical 78s from 
$1.50 and $2 to a buck, a move met by Victor. Pressings and musical quality 
then went into the toilet. If it wasn't Tchaikowsky, the hell with it.

dl

On 3/8/2012 10:31 AM, neechevoneeznayou at gmail.com wrote:
> Sorting thru the records, populating the new shelving. I've discovered
> that I own a couple sets of Victor G series 78s, which I don't recall
> even seeing before....that ever happen to anybody?
>
> G4 is Tchaikovsky Fifth, Stock/CSO.
>
> G7 is Brahms Fourth, LSO, Abendroth.
>
> The interesting thing to me is that even tho this is squarely classical
> rep, not even light classical, it is released on black label records. I
> suppose I am suffering from the delusion that Victor released classical
> only on red seal, but that clearly is not the case.
>
> So my question is this, what was the intended market for G series
> records and what else was released therein?

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