Neville Marriner

Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist. Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner number 14 of the 18 "Greatest and Most Famous Conductors of All Time". He founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and his partnership with them is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor.

Early life Marriner was born in Lincoln, England, the son of Herbert Marriner, a carpenter, and his wife Ethel (née Roberts). He initially learned the violin as well as the piano from his father, and later studied the violin with Frederick Mountney.

In 1939 he went to the Royal College of Music in London, He also played with the chamber orchestras of Reginald Jacques and Boyd Neel, as well as the London Mozart Players.

Marriner was the founder and first music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, from 1969 to 1978. From 1979 to 1986, he was music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. He was principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1989. Except for 1974 to 1980 during which Iona Brown was the director, he remained the musical director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields until 2011, when he was succeeded by Joshua Bell, continuing to hold the title of Life President until his death. He also conducted many other orchestras, including the New York Chamber Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic.

His obituary in The Telegraph praises the Academy of St Martin in the Fields' interpretations of baroque and classical music as "fresh, technically brilliant", and describes them as a "revelation". He recorded for various labels, including Argo, L'Oiseau Lyre, Philips and EMI Classics. His recorded repertoire ranges from the baroque era to 20th-century British music, as well as opera. His partnership with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor.

He lived in London and in later life had a second home near Chardstock in Devon. Marriner died from heart failure on 2 October 2016, at the age of 92, at his home in London.

Centenary In April 2024 the Academy marked the centenary of its founder’s birth with concerts in St Martin-in-the-Fields church, the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and Lincoln Cathedral (the city of his birth). The Marriner 100 programme commenced on 15 April, the actual centenary day, with a concert at the orchestra’s spiritual home, St Martin-in-the-Fields, directed/conducted by leader Tomo Keller, music director Joshua Bell and former Academy flautist Jaime Martin, in which former members of the Academy Chorus, who had sung under Marriner, performed a suite from Die Schöpfung. BBC Radio 3 broadcast the concert as the climax of its Neville Marriner Day, with all its programmes devoted to his life, work and legacy. A month long centenary exhibition was held in the church.

On 14 April BBC Four broadcast Sir Neville Marriner at the Proms: Mendelssohn's Italian Symphony, from 1983, and Sir Neville Marriner: Schubert's Symphony No 10, from 1988, both with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields. On 15 April BBC Radio 3 broadcast "Neville Marriner Day".

Honours and awards Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ranks Marriner number 14 of the 18 "Greatest and Most Famous Conductors of All Time". He founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and his partnership with them is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor. In 1990 the Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation awarded Marriner its annual Shakespeare Prize in recognition of his life's work. In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH). He was appointed an officer of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His recordings of Mozart were honoured with two Gemeinde Awards from the Austrian Music Academy.

Discography Look at CD: PHILIPS 456 662-2 SOLO Franz von Suppe "The famous overtures" London Philharmonic Orchestra Alexander Cameron, cello solo in "Poet and Peasant"