Sir Neville Marriner

Sir Neville Marriner's artistic life is closely intertwined with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra. However, it began independently. Marriner was born on April 15, 1924, in Lincoln, UK. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and, as a gifted violinist, was accepted into René Benedetti's violin class at the Paris Conservatoire. Until 1948, he refined his skills in Eaton, then became the second violinist of the Martin Quartet and founded the Jacobean Ensemble. Soon, he himself taught at the Royal College and furthered his conducting studies with Pierre Monteux. Marriner proved his worth, becoming a violinist with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, then in 1956, the principal second violinist of the London Symphony Orchestra (until 1968). This period also saw the founding of the ensemble that would influence and transform his artistic work. It began in 1958 when organist John Churchill commissioned Neville Marriner to assemble an orchestra that would bear the name of the historically famous church in Trafalgar Square. His choice was a good one, for the experienced chamber musician and concertmaster had something special in mind. He wanted to create a large ensemble with transparent sound, whose members would not submit to the dictates of eccentric conductors but would participate equally in the development of the works. Marriner was concerned with the authenticity of the sound, historically informed and implemented as precisely as possible with like-minded individuals. In the 1958/59 season, the young Academy of St. Martin in the Fields orchestra debuted in its namesake church with five concerts, followed by several radio broadcasts. When music publisher Louise Hanson-Dyer shortly thereafter got her hands on a demo tape of the Academy made for the BBC, she recognized its potential and signed the ensemble to her label L’Oiseau-Lyre. The very first recordings were lavishly praised by the press. However, Hanson-Dyer's death in 1962 ended the initial ascent of Marriner's project. Nevertheless, this was followed by the period with Argo/Decca, acoustically excellent recording venues like Kingsway Hall, and not least, outstanding sound engineers such as Kenneth Wilkinson and Stan Goodall, who significantly influenced the sound of the archival recordings through clever microphone placements. Thus, meticulous content, technical sophistication, and artistic development went hand in hand. Under Marriner's direction, the Academy, with its albums and concerts, advanced to become one of the most renowned chamber ensembles in the world. It became a symbol of the greatest possible naturalness and directness of sound, a reference for appropriate sound design with historical awareness. For example, the recordings of the complete Mozart piano concertos, made throughout the seventies and early eighties with Alfred Brendel as soloist, are among the best recordings of these works ever. Marriner also worked with Jessye Norman, Kiri Te Kanawa, Viktoria Mullova, Bryn Terfel, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Sylvia McNair, Thomas Allen, Barbara Hendricks, Karita Matilla, Lucia Popp, and Imogen Cooper. Furthermore, Marriner also left his mark in other places. From 1969, he was Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (until 1979), concurrently Deputy Director of the Northern Sinfonia Orchestra (1971–73), Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra (1979–86), and Chief Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (1986–89). He conducted world premieres such as William Walton's “Sonata for Strings” (1972) and Peter Maxwell Davies' “Sinfonia Concertante” (1983). Among the numerous awards with which Marriner and the Academy were honored are four Grammys (1977, 1981, 1984, 2002), including for “Best Classical Album,” which he received in 1984 for the soundtrack to Milos Forman's film “Amadeus,” and in 2002 for “Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra),” which Marriner and violinist Hilary Hahn received for the violin concertos of Brahms and Stravinsky. In 1979, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1985, he was knighted. In addition, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French state in 1995 for his services to classical French music. 6/2005