Obituary, Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016)

The English conductor Sir Neville Marriner has died aged 92. Born in Lincoln on 15th April 1924, Marriner was educated at the Royal College of Music and Paris Conservatoire, beginning his musical life as a violinist (he was a member of the London Symphony Orchestra and Philharmonia during his early career, as well as a very active chamber musician).

Inspired by working with small ensembles such as the London Mozart Players, Marriner founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 1958; taking their name from the Trafalgar Square church where they gave their debut concert of eighteenth-century Italian concerti grossi, their early supporters and participants included the violinist Iona Brown, horn-player Barry Tuckwell, and harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood, and the group were soon snapped up by the L’Oiseau Lyre label (their first recording, based on the repertoire from that debut London concert, was recently reissued on Australian Eloquence, and showcases the spry phrasing, immaculate ensemble-playing and combination of elegance and energy that would become the group’s hallmarks). Focusing primarily on baroque and Classical repertoire (though Marriner was notably less preoccupied with the notion of historically-informed performance than many of his peers in these fields), the ASMF went on to make hundreds of acclaimed recordings, winning particular praise for their Bach, Handel and Mozart but also making hugely popular excursions into twentieth-century English music (their accounts of much-loved classics like Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending and Fantasia on Greensleeves and Elgar’s Serenade for Strings and Introduction and Allegro have rarely been equalled on disc). Initially conceiving the group as a small conductorless string ensemble, Marriner originally led the ASMF from the violin, but switched to directing from the podium after a decade or so; as well as his work with the Academy, founded the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 1969 and also held several directorships with US and European orchestras, including the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Minnesota Orchestra.

Marriner was knighted in 1985 and won the Lifetime Achievement category at the 2014 Gramophone Awards; though he ceded musical directorship of the ASMF to violinist Joshua Bell in 2011, he continued to perform into his tenth decade, with The Guardian praising the ‘sprightliness and geniality’ which he displayed on the podium for his own 90th birthday concert at the Royal Festival Hall in April 2014. He is survived by his son Andrew (principal clarinet with the London Symphony Orchestra), his daughter Susie, and his wife Molly.

Sir Neville Marriner's full available discography is listed here.

Sir Neville Marriner - 10 key recordings