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Ward Marston collection of Stokowski: The Philadelphia Years radio program recordings
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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us] 3420 Walnut Street, 6th Floor (Monday-Friday, 10 am to 4:30 pm), Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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Ward Marston was born on May 22, 1952, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Blind from birth, Marston developed an early passion for music and began studying piano as a child. He attended the Overbrook School for the Blind and later studied at Williams College.
Marston became interested in historical recordings and broadcast engineering but was dissatisfied with existing commercial transfers. This led him to develop his own restoration techniques. Over the course of his career, Marston has restored and produced thousands of historical recordings for major labels including RCA, Naxos, Pearl, and Romophone. In 1997 he co-founded Marston Records, a label dedicated to preserving important performances from the early twentieth century.
Leopold Stokowski (1882–1977) was a British-born conductor renowned for his innovative approach to orchestral music and his lasting influence on classical music in the United States. Born in London on April 18, 1882, he studied at the Royal College of Music and began his career as an organist before turning to conducting.
Stokowski gained international fame as music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1912 to 1936, where he developed the orchestra's rich, distinctive "Philadelphia Sound." Known for conducting without a baton and for his dramatic stage presence, he helped popularize classical music through innovative performances, recordings, and educational concerts.
Stokowski died on September 13, 1977, in Hampshire, England.
This collection contains open reel recordings of Ward Marston's radio series, Stokowski: The Philadelphia Years, broadcasted on WUHY-FM (now WHYY-FM) in Philadelphia from 1974 to 1975. The 58-part program presented the complete recordings of the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski, accompanied by Marston's commentary and insights.
This collection was housed at the Curtis Institute of Music between 1978 and 2013, and was known as the Morton C. Grad collection. It was transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in 2013.
Gift of Ward Marston, 2019
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- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
- Finding Aid Author
- Kristine McGee
- Finding Aid Date
- 2026 April 3
- Access Restrictions
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Open for research use, with some restrictions. See Restrictions Note for details. Portions may be stored offsite; please request at least 1 week before use in the Kislak Center Reading Room (6th Floor, Van Pelt Library).
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.