The Classical Music Guide Forums

It hardly seems possible that our beloved founder, WARD BOTSFORD, has been gone now for five years! How we miss his presence, humor, and love of classical music and the classical music recording business. Ward was someone one could learn from during every conversation. Both Corlyss and I had the pleasure of knowing Ward and his devoted and darling wife, Lynn. We were fortunate to have been invited to their lovely home many times to discuss our affairs on the original Miscrosoft classical music forum of which Ward was in charge, and then with the Classical Music Guide, which he founded. I cannot let a year go by without honoring this wonderful and generous man.

Below is the original obituary that appeared on April 1, 2004. Many newcomers to CMG should know about Ward Botsford and all that he has done for the world of recorded music and beyond. The Botsford family were most generous in allowing yours truly to take over the site. He would be proud, indeed, to know that it is still going, and going strong.

We remember Ward Botsford with deep affection.
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Ward Botsford, Classical Music Maven and
Publisher of ClassicalMusicGuide.com, Dies at 76

Ward Botsford, Grammy award winning classical and spoken arts record producer, died on Thursday [April 1, 2004] at New York Hospital due to complications from MDS, a form of leukemia. He was 76.

Botsford was considered by many to be the penultimate classical music maven. His extensive recording work with many of the great classical music performers of our time included Sir Thomas Beecham, Guiomar Novaes, The London Symphony Orchestra, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera company and many others. Botsford's work was produced on a variety of labels including Urania Records, Vox Productions (with which he was Vice President and co-owner), and Arabesque Records (Botsford founded Arabesque Records in 1980).

In a December 1987 article in the NY Times, Botsford was referred to as a man "who brings a happy combination to his job: 30 years of practical experience in the classical record business together with a collector's enthusiasm and knowledge of the field." Botsford pioneered the reissuing of historical recordings, discovering overlooked gems of past repertoire as well as championing unusual works of new and upcoming talents.

Prior to founding Arabesque, Botsford's career included a wide variety of spoken arts productions for radio, film and records. As Producer/Director of Caedmon Records, he produced and directed numerous plays and book adaptations including Death of a Salesman with Lee J. Cobb and the original RCS production of Marat/Sade. His radio work included writing and directing programs with stars such as Mike Douglas, Carol Channing, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mathis, Harry Chapin and Tammy Grimes. Botsford served as a voice director for the Tristar animated film "Pound Puppies & the Legend of Big Paw".

Botsford received several Grammy awards as well as countless nominations for his spoken arts work. He received Grammys for Ages of Man with Sir John Gielgud, The Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda and Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein with Pat Carroll.

Botsford also forayed broadly into the realm of Science Fiction in a variety of ways. As a science fiction writer, he wrote "The Needle of Space", published in a collection of short stories entitled "Blue Book" in 1950. He co-authored the highly acclaimed 'Star Trek: Next Generation' episode "Rascals". Botsford was friend and colleague to many giants in science fiction publishing including Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert and Arthur C. Clarke - all of whom have dedicated various fiction works to him. Botsford's recording work included numerous science fiction classics such as Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" narrated by William Shatner (Captain Kirk of Star Trek), Ray Bradbury's "The Martin Chronicles" narrated by Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock of Star Trek) as well as "2010" and "2061" with the author, Arthur C. Clarke.

Botsford's interest in space travel was not all fictionally based. He collaborated with NASA in the sixties, recording the Mercury and Gemini flights for historical archives including the Friendship 7 mission flown by John Glenn. He was an honorary member of the Royal Order of Star-Riders, having flown in the U.S. Air Force's highest performing fighter in 1960 which then had the world's speed record of 1404 mph and altitude record of 91,243 feet. Botsford flew with a variety of NASA's celebrated astronauts including Neil Armstrong and Gordon Cooper. Botsford was also a founding member of several organizations that supported space science.

Botsford authored several books including "Archeology - Middle America", which received 22 printings, and "The Pirates of Penzance", a children's adaptation of the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta for Random House. Botsford was considered an expert on Gilbert & Sullivan, serving as a consultant to Isaac Asimov's "Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan" published in 1988. Asimov dedicated the volume to Botsford, praising his expertise.

Ward Botsford also made considerable contributions to the world of children through copious recordings of favorite authors such as the complete Winnie the Pooh with Carol Channing, the Nutcracker with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas with narration by Christopher Plummer. He recorded a variety of albums with famous folk singer Oscar Brand that were directed for children. Botsford recorded many of Maurice Sendak's books as well including Where the Wild Things Are and Outside Over there. He also recorded the Broadway musical version of "Really Rosie" lyrics by Sendak with music by Carol King. Botsford produced hundreds of albums specifically for the children's market.

For Microsoft Network, he handled the Classical Music Forum for five years. Upon MSN's ending their content driven websites, Botsford opened ClassicalMusicGuide.com, a site that still sees thousands of visitors per month.

He is survived by his wife of almost 50 years, Lynn Botsford, as well as his daughters Diana Botsford and Andrea Botsford Castellano. Four grandchildren will also carry his memory forward: Ariana Botsford, Ashlee Castellano, Anthony Castellano and Michael Castellano.

The world will miss his great love of experiencing life at its fullest and his constant pursuit of knowledge.

I joined CMG after his death, so before your post, Ward Botsford was simply a name to me. Thank you for posting this obit. He was truly a Renaissance Man.

I had no idea that he founded Arabesque Records, in my Musical Infancy I began to appreciate Chamber Music with a recording of Schubert's Piano Trios by Golub, Kaplan and Carr, I searched it out because I asked the guy at Tower to show me the music from Barry Lyndon, I then bought all their other Arabesque recording, and the rest, as they say, is history...

Lance:

Thanks for posting this excellent obit of founder Ward Botsford. I too have fond memories of Arabesque records...

Thanks, Lance, for reminding me of this date. I was driving into Logan, my pending trip to Arlington for the trial on the sale of my mother's house prominent in my mind, when you called to tell me that Ward has succumbed to the effects of the disease.

I remember Ward with great affection. He was an encouraging presence on the old MSN Classical Music Forum. I was so dumb about online forums that I was busily posting in archived fora (which is why we lock ours) when he kindly informed me that nobody responded to those and I should post in the active forum. I hadn't been on a month when you asked me to be your assistant on the forum. Ward basically made our friendship possible.

He was an enthusiastic and gracious host when we visited him and his lovely wife in Pound Ridge to plan out the successor to the abandoned MSN forum, which became CMG. And we exchanged emails about books too. I remember a few months after I joined, early in 1997, when he lamented to me that his decrepit pb copy of Three Men in A Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) was too tattered to read and he was about to order another pb copy. I mentioned that I had 3 hb copies and would be willing to sell him one at cost. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. When I was ill, he was one of 3 I met on MSN that were vigilant in keeping in touch with me to see how I was doing, a kindness I have never forgotten and cherish to this day. He was more than a great force in the music and recording industry; he was a good man dearly missed.

As a complete newbie I did not know of the gentleman but we here at CMG certainly owe Ward Botsford a debt of gratitude for this wonderful forum.

I never met Ward Botsford, but i was fortunate in coming to CMG while he was still active, and I saw a good deal of his writings on the site. His interests were wide ranging, his comments and reviews always worth reading.

He was a great influence, and I think he would be pleased and gratified to see how the forum he founded has progressed under the guidance of Lance and Corlyss.

I think it was from you, Lance, that I learnt of Ward's death 2 years after the fact. I was stunned. I was numbed, not only by the news of his death, but by the emptiness that seemed to engulf me, moments after I had discovered [from you] that the old MSN Classical Group had been resurrected as the CMG.

Ward was a font of knowledge that he dispensed with a grace and humour that made that MSN group one of the great experiences that I treasure to this day. [My wife knew the names of my friends-whom-I-had-never-met such as Ward, Corlyss & Lance.] Ward & Lance helped to broaden my classical music perspective, what with their encyclopedic knowledge of the "obsucure" and of the forgotten composers and/or compositions!

As a moderator of the MSN group, Ward had the ability to keep the peace without much drama on those few occasions when a member allowed their passion to get the better of their manners.

My memory may be letting me down, but was it not Ward who had an LP collection, exceeding 15,000 [or was it 50,000??] that he had offered to various libraries without anyone showing interest? If it was Ward, do you know what eventually happened to his enormous collection? I do not remember how big his CD collection was at the time, but I know it was quite impressive. Not surprising, of course, given his career and devotion to recorded music.

I never met him. I did not know him. But the magic of the Internet enabled me to enjoy his company and to tap his vast knowledge that added to my enjoyment of the music whose love we shared. I miss him. And I thank him.

Muniini

It's really wonderful of you to remember Ward Botsford so fondly and warmly, Muniini. Ward also had a gift for keeping peace on his sites. As a recording producer, keeping peace among all involved is a mammoth job and he took all he learned outisde the box and imparted it in his day-to-day activites with others. Ward had a most elaborate setup at his beautiful home on the eastern part of New York State bordering on Connecticut, surrounded by nature's beauty. As for his collection, I would imagine it is still being kept by the family, or perhaps part of it.

This is a lovely tribute to Ward Botsford, I imagine that he would be very proud of what Lance and Corlyss have managed to achieve here too.

Thanks Lance for the post. It would have been great to have met Ward on CMG.

Ward had my highest respect. He was a true gentleman and his knowledge of classical music and the recording industry was awesome. It's a tribute to Ward that Lance and Corlyss have effectively continued his website in the way he wanted.