For more than 40 years the name H. Ward Marston has been synonymous with excellence in audio transfer engineering, as well as historical recordings preservation and discovery. Those drawn to the great artists of the last century, particularly those from the 78rpm era, have almost certainly heard, or own, a recording that was painstakingly restored by H. Ward Marston. He remains among the most respected and sought-after transfer engineers working today and though he continues to freelance on projects he feels important, since 1997 he has been particularly focused on his own eponymous label, returning to the catalog a wealth of recorded riches that the major labels have neglected – these include not only commercial recordings, but privately made discs and off-air or broadcast recordings. Now in its 25th year, Marston Records continues to issue vocal and pianistic recordings of incalculable historic importance and artistic merit.
Encounters with Caruso and Stokowski
H. (Henry) Ward Marston IV was born in Philadelphia in 1952 and showed an interest, and aptitude, for music from a young age. A chance hearing of Caruso singing Jules Granier’s Hosanna (Easter Song) on an old gramophone captured his imagination: “I asked them to play it over and over again. I was fascinated by the tune, by the singing, the sheer sense of history I felt when I was listening to the record.” Even more decisive was a 1961 Metropolitan Opera performance of Puccini’s Turandot led by Leopold Stokowski. His was a musical family – just before the First World War his grandfather sang some at Paris’ Opéra Comique – and by age 4 Ward had begun teaching himself the piano. Formal lessons began at age 7, to which were added organ studies. While still an infant, retrolental fibroplasia (RFL) robbed him of his sight, a not uncommon occurrence among premature babies in the early 1950s, before doctors realized that pure oxygen incubators could damage the delicate blood vessels of the eye.
Jazz Idols, WCFM & US Presidents
Despite such a formidable obstacle, Ward prospered and led anything but a sheltered life. At age 16 he made a sojourn to southern France, where he played a concert on the organ of the Cathedrale Saint Just in Narbonne. There, he had a chance meeting with the famous organist Pierre Couchereau. He played for Cochereau, and was later given the opportunity to play the organ for a few minutes at Paris’s Notre Dame. His teenage years also found him playing in clubs and piano bars before forming his own jazz ensemble, later the Ward Marston Trio, which still plays today nationwide. Though he has always admired such greats as Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum and Erroll Garner, he was in awe of club pianist Cy Walter (“He is my God”). While encounters with legendary artists, whether live or on record were inspirational, it was a more commonplace experience – going to college – that would prove unexpectedly momentous. Attending Williams College in Massachusetts, Ward began broadcasting his collection on the campus radio station WCFM. Dissatisfied with commercially made transfers of historic recordings, he began devising his own methods. Many of these early efforts were devoted to recordings of historical figures and events, such as speeches from 1908 by William Jennings Bryant, and from 1912 by William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. Ward’s subsequent broadcast work — a Stokowski retrospective — for NPR affiliate WUHY in Philadelphia (today WHYY) caught the attention of Columbia Masterworks, who commissioned him to transfer early recordings by the Budapest String Quartet for the label’s Odyssey re-issue series.
Milestone Transfers
During the LP era, Ward made transfers for numerous independent labels as well, including Desmar, Encore Historic, Pearl, Recital Record, Titanic, and for the International Piano Archives at Maryland. The majors continued to contract his expertise and among his achievements during this period was the Franklin Mint’s 35- LP Toscanini Collection. A pivotal project was “Early Hi-Fi”, the experimental wide-range and stereophonic recordings made by Bell Labs Telephone Laboratories with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra during the years 1931/32. The sonic achievements of these remarkable recordings only became fully realized with Ward Marston’s revelatory transfers, firmly placing him on the map as one of the industry’s finest audio engineers. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The B-Side of Marston Records: Scott Kessler
Though the label bears Ward’s last name, the enduring success of Marston Records owes much to its Business Manager (and Ward’s life partner and husband) Scott Kessler. Among the major news stories of 1982 was the breakup, by US antitrust regulators, of telecom giant AT&T’s near 60-year monopoly on US telephone services. A boon to consumers and entrepreneurs alike, another serendipitous outcome was that newly unemployed Scott Kessler, recently hired in the executive program with “Ma Bell”, found work with Gretna Music. Based in Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania and now among the premiere music festivals in the United States, in 1982 it was a listing ship. By year’s end, Scott Kessler had righted it, and not long after met a charismatic jazz pianist named Ward Marston. In addition to his tenure at Gretna Music, Scott also served as Business Manager of the Pennsylvania Opera Theater in Philadelphia. In addition to managing the business side of Marston Records, Scott continues to serve on the boards of numerous arts organizations.
Still Grooving After all these Years
Now in its 25th year, Marston Records continues apace, going from strength to strength. 2018 saw the release of their “Rachmaninoff plays Symphonic Dances”, an extraordinarily important, and previously unknown, find. Few, if any, historical labels have new release announcements that are more eagerly awaited than those of Marston Records. We look forward to your continued work and contributions to music. Thank you.
See album artwork and more in the Summer 2022 issue (available in subscriber accounts) on Page 38!