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An unusual (and FAKE) Asahina Symphony Set

An unusual (and FAKE) Asahina Symphony Set

An unusual (and FAKE) Asahina Symphony Set
A friend of mine bought this set on Ebay and when he found out it was fake, we made a swap for something he really wanted. Now I can examine it, describe it and warn you about it.

The set is labeled almost entirely in Japanese. In translation, the outside simply says. "Conductor, Takashi Asahina," "Bruckner Symphonies," "Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra," and the listing of Symphonies 0-9.

The side spine gives the number TACL-001-10 STEREO.

The plastic case that holds the 10 CDs is like a loose leaf binder and the ten plastic sleeves are secured by two rings. The CDs are each in their own slip case and on each of the reverse sides there is an inserted photo or graphic of Asahina with text in Japanese on the back.

The case itself was manufactured by UniKeep. Empty cases are still sold on the Internet. They come with a clear plastic outer sleeve, much like a DVD case. This particular case was manufactured in May of 2016, which gives some indication of when the set was made.

The ten CDs are nicely labeled in black, again in Japanese, but the individual works are identified in English. As an example:

JOSEPH ANTON BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Symphony No. 1 in C Minor (ed. Haas)
OSAKA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
TAKASHI ASAHINA (conductor)

The quality of the printing and the catalog number give the impression that this was made for sale. But as we get to the recordings themselves, we run into serious issues. Each CD is devoted to a single symphony. They are all labeled as being performed by Asahina and the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra. With the exception of the Symphony No. 1 they are all by different conductors and orchestras. Here is the list:

Symphony No. 0: Eliahu Inbal / Frantfurt R.S.O. / Teldec
Symphony No. 1: Takashi Asahina / Osaka Philharmoinc / Canyon
Symphony No. 2: Erich Schmid / SWF Symphony Orchestra / Point
Symphony No. 3: G. Rozhdestvensky / Moscow R.S.O. / Revelation
Symphony No. 4: Milan Horvat / ORF Sym. Orch. / Point
Symphony No. 5: G. Rozhdestvensky / USSR Min. of Culture / Revelation
Symphony No. 6: Jesus Lopes-Cobos / Cincinnati S.O. / Telarc
Symphony No. 7: Jesus Lopes-Cobos / Cincinnati S.O. / Telarc
Symphony No. 8: G. Rozhdestvensky / USSR Min. of Culture / Revelation
Symphony No. 9: Jesus Lopes=Cobos / Cincinnati S.O. / Telarc

Actual identification of the performances was done by timing comparisons and by using Shazam recording recognition software.

Let the buyer beware!!