# Ward Marston and Marston Records-- the search for vintage classical recordings



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

As I continue into TC here, I am inspired to look at some very old school recordings. Like turn of the last century old from the late 1900's and early 2000's. So I ended up finding a really good website for these recordings at http://www.marstonrecords.com/

Do does anyone have experience with these remasters? Any performances that I should start off with?

What do people here think about super vintage recordings, particularly ones transferred off cylinders?


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

albertfallickwang said:


> As I continue into TC here, I am inspired to look at some very old school recordings. Like turn of the last century old from the late 1900's and early 2000's. So I ended up finding a really good website for these recordings at http://www.marstonrecords.com/
> 
> Do does anyone have experience with these remasters? Any performances that I should start off with?
> 
> What do people here think about super vintage recordings, particularly ones transferred off cylinders?


The transfers are fine, often surprisingly truthful. Somehow the transfers are "musical", so that even when the piano sounds harsh or distorted it doesn't stop me enjoying the performances at all. The surface noise is not a problem. The problem is cost and availability.

Without the slightest doubt you should start with Ernst Levy. All of them - especially the Liszt sonata and Beethoven op 110.

And maybe then to Jorge Bolet's recital with the Chopin sonata, and then Josef Hofmann's Casimir Hall recital and one of his Beethoven PC 4s. Also the Rachmaninov - the Chopin sonata, Schubert, and Schumann. But note that Marston made even more successful transfers of Rachmaninov for Naxos (I suspect he had better material to work with.)

The Casimir Hall Waldstein is a good example of how Marston's transfers are listenable, despite very harsh piano sounds in the third movement.

I expect a lot of this stuff is on youtube.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Cool beans, I will be on the lookout for clips on Youtube. It's too bad that his website doesn't allow for lossless file downloading which would have been a great option.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

Not only no downloads, but no online ordering either- they have a complicated system whereby you have to print off a form and fax it to them. (I'm sure I remember an episode of Friends from about 20 years ago when Chandler sees a fax machine and quips 'Are we expecting a message from 1986?' But then if you deal with wax cylinders for a living, 1986 is pretty up to date  ) 

I personally think they filter out too much noise, resulting in a loss of 'presence'. I think Bigshot has expressed similar reservations, and he is a man who knows much more than I do about this sort of thing- although I can't remember whether he was referring to Marston specifically or to reissue companies generally. They probably are the best label of their kind though, and without them a lot of music would remain inaccessible: things like 'The Julius Block Cylinders', unique recordings from the 1890s from an archive in Russia, the originals of which would not probably not be accessible to the likes of you or me. 

Are you interested in vocal or instrumental?


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## bigshot (Nov 22, 2011)

Marston and Mark Obert Thorne are both good. No complaints with their work from me. Marston is blind and has to have people help him with the ordering process, so it is a bit convoluted.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Figleaf said:


> Not only no downloads, but no online ordering either- they have a complicated system whereby you have to print off a form and fax it to them. (I'm sure I remember an episode of Friends from about 20 years ago when Chandler sees a fax machine and quips 'Are we expecting a message from 1986?' But then if you deal with wax cylinders for a living, 1986 is pretty up to date  )
> 
> I personally think they filter out too much noise, resulting in a loss of 'presence'. I think Bigshot has expressed similar reservations, and he is a man who knows much more than I do about this sort of thing- although I can't remember whether he was referring to Marston specifically or to reissue companies generally. They probably are the best label of their kind though, and without them a lot of music would remain inaccessible: things like 'The Julius Block Cylinders', unique recordings from the 1890s from an archive in Russia, the originals of which would not probably not be accessible to the likes of you or me.
> 
> Are you interested in vocal or instrumental?


I love both vocal and instrumental. No online ordering? My gosh that it is going to make things slower for me LOL.


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

albertfallickwang said:


> Cool beans, I will be on the lookout for clips on Youtube. It's too bad that his website doesn't allow for lossless file downloading which would have been a great option.


There's an entire opera here. Not the very strongest cast of the Pathe opera series, but still interesting as an example of French singing styles of the period. It shows what can be done with what is, from a purely audiophile perspective, fairly unprepossessing raw material.






I think Ward Marston's most recommendable transfer of a complete opera predates Marston Records: the 1912 Romeo et Juliette. It has the best cast of any complete opera recording IMO, and it's on VAIA 1064-3. I found my used copy on Alibris.


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