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"New Reissue Label Seeks Niche" by Heidi Waleson , Billboard Magazine, 2 August 1997 |
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Some folks still see elbow room in the crowded marketplace. Producer Ward Marston is launching his own reissue label, eponymously dubbed Marston, Oct. 14. Marston, who was born blind, has been in the forefront of historical remastering, working on such reissue projects as BMG Classics' Fritz Kreisler collection and Romophone's complete recordings of Lucrezia Bori (for which he received the Gramophone Award for historical vocal record of the year in 1996). Why another reissue label? Scott Kessler, who has launched the business with Marston, says the label will focus on projects that other labels aren't doing. "Also, when he produced for other labels, there was always a time crunch," says Kessler. "He wants to be able to take more time and find the best sources." Marston's enormous collection of tens of thousands of recordings will be his first source (another impetus in founding the label was his desire to preserve the interpretations on those precious records). His network of collector friends, plus archival sources such as Yale University, will also be part of the process. The first four releases, all two-CD sets, are "Alma Gluck" (a survey of the soprano's greatest opera and song recordings, 1911-1918); "The Complete Johanna Gadski: Volume 1 (The Victor Recordings 1903-1909)"; Massenet's "Manon: The First Recording, 1923 Pathe," which features Fanny Heldy; and "The Complete Josef Hofmann: Solo Recordings (1935-1948)." The label will release one project a month thereafter, except in July and August. November will bring a single disc with all the recordings (1904-08) of the elusive soprano Olimpia Boronat. Harmonia Mundi USA will distribute the label in the U.S.; it will retail at full price.
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