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| On the strength of what he had achieved by his early 30s, Sir Neville Marriner, who has died aged 92, would have been remembered as a decent orchestral and chamber music violinist. But at 34 he made a brilliant career move that led to his becoming one of the world’s best-known conductors. His chamber orchestra, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, not only inaugurated a fashion for long-winded ensemble titles, but shot straight to the top of its class, beating the Germans and Italians at their own game. To achieve this feat in Britain, a land not noted for its string playing, was extraordinary. | On the strength of what he had achieved by his early 30s, Sir Neville Marriner, who has died aged 92, would have been remembered as a decent orchestral and chamber music violinist. But at 34 he made a brilliant career move that led to his becoming one of the world’s best-known conductors. His chamber orchestra, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, not only inaugurated a fashion for long-winded ensemble titles, but shot straight to the top of its class, beating the Germans and Italians at their own game. To achieve this feat in Britain, a land not noted for its string playing, was extraordinary. |
| Recordings were vital to the success of the Academy of St Martin’s, which initially played only baroque music. When Marriner was invited by four colleagues to form the crack string band in 1958, he led it from the first desk as Adolf Busch had done in the 1930s and 40s with his Chamber Players, and Felix Ayo was doing with I Musici. The original 12 musicians wanted the chance to make music democratically, as they suffered enough in their “day jobs” from the tyrannies of conductors. | Recordings were vital to the success of the Academy of St Martin’s, which initially played only baroque music. When Marriner was invited by four colleagues to form the crack string band in 1958, he led it from the first desk as Adolf Busch had done in the 1930s and 40s with his Chamber Players, and Felix Ayo was doing with I Musici. The original 12 musicians wanted the chance to make music democratically, as they suffered enough in their “day jobs” from the tyrannies of conductors. |
| The group, which drew on Marriner’s experience of playing in such chamber orchestras as the Jacques (founded by Reginald Jacques) and the Boyd Neel, met initially in his flat. But their keyboard player, John Churchill, who was director of music at the classical 18th-century church in Trafalgar Square, suggested they should give five concerts at St Martin’s in the 1958-59 season. The viola player Michael Bowie came up with the title Academy. The initial series went well, the BBC took note and a more ambitious series began on 13 November 1959, now considered the Academy’s real starting point. | The group, which drew on Marriner’s experience of playing in such chamber orchestras as the Jacques (founded by Reginald Jacques) and the Boyd Neel, met initially in his flat. But their keyboard player, John Churchill, who was director of music at the classical 18th-century church in Trafalgar Square, suggested they should give five concerts at St Martin’s in the 1958-59 season. The viola player Michael Bowie came up with the title Academy. The initial series went well, the BBC took note and a more ambitious series began on 13 November 1959, now considered the Academy’s real starting point. |
| Louise Dyer, an Australian sheep farmer and entrepreneur who ran the characterful record label L’Oiseau Lyre, was impressed by the first concert and offered a contract for six records. On 25 and 26 March 1961 the Academy assembled in Conway Hall to record works by Corelli, Torelli, Locatelli, Albicastro and Handel. Marriner had to buy gut E-strings because the violins sounded too shrill in the hall’s acoustic. Each player received £5, with no promise of royalties. Issued in 1962, the LP was well received, and that July a second programme was set down in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, east London. When Dyer died in 1962, Harley Usill’s enterprising Argo label took over the Academy. | Louise Dyer, an Australian sheep farmer and entrepreneur who ran the characterful record label L’Oiseau Lyre, was impressed by the first concert and offered a contract for six records. On 25 and 26 March 1961 the Academy assembled in Conway Hall to record works by Corelli, Torelli, Locatelli, Albicastro and Handel. Marriner had to buy gut E-strings because the violins sounded too shrill in the hall’s acoustic. Each player received £5, with no promise of royalties. Issued in 1962, the LP was well received, and that July a second programme was set down in Walthamstow Assembly Hall, east London. When Dyer died in 1962, Harley Usill’s enterprising Argo label took over the Academy. |
| The group’s LPs did so well that Marriner, with encouragement and coaching from the LSO’s conductor Pierre Monteux, began to exchange his bow for the baton. The Academy soon expanded to a full chamber orchestra and, with major studio contracts from Decca and later EMI, Philips and Sony, eventually became the most recorded orchestra of all, covering a vast repertoire from the Baroque to the moderns. | The group’s LPs did so well that Marriner, with encouragement and coaching from the LSO’s conductor Pierre Monteux, began to exchange his bow for the baton. The Academy soon expanded to a full chamber orchestra and, with major studio contracts from Decca and later EMI, Philips and Sony, eventually became the most recorded orchestra of all, covering a vast repertoire from the Baroque to the moderns. |
| By 1969 Marriner could give up playing in other orchestras and work full time with the Academy. The ultimate professional, he was able to attract the best players because they were aware that he knew what he was doing. Academy recordings were musicologically sound and technically polished. Thurston Dart played the harpsichord on some of them, even during his final illness, and soloists such as Alan Loveday and Iona Brown – who in 1978 became Marriner’s successor in directing from the violin – lent further lustre to the lineup. | By 1969 Marriner could give up playing in other orchestras and work full time with the Academy. The ultimate professional, he was able to attract the best players because they were aware that he knew what he was doing. Academy recordings were musicologically sound and technically polished. Thurston Dart played the harpsichord on some of them, even during his final illness, and soloists such as Alan Loveday and Iona Brown – who in 1978 became Marriner’s successor in directing from the violin – lent further lustre to the lineup. |
| The Academy also toured worldwide and appeared at the large festivals, making a big impact at Salzburg under Marriner in 1982. In 1990 alone, the orchestra gave 114 concerts outside the UK with Marriner, and in 1993 it won a Queen’s award for export achievement. Meanwhile, in 1969 Marriner had taken over the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, which took him to California twice a year until 1987. | The Academy also toured worldwide and appeared at the large festivals, making a big impact at Salzburg under Marriner in 1982. In 1990 alone, the orchestra gave 114 concerts outside the UK with Marriner, and in 1993 it won a Queen’s award for export achievement. Meanwhile, in 1969 Marriner had taken over the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, which took him to California twice a year until 1987. |
| Born in Lincoln to Herbert, a carpenter, and Ethel (nee Roberts), Marriner was taught the violin and piano by his father before opting for the violin and studying with Frederick Mountney. He was educated at Lincoln school and entered the Royal College of Music in London on a scholarship in 1939. His studies with Edward Elgar’s friend Billy Reed were disrupted by second world war service in Army reconnaissance (1941-43), but on being invalided out, after five months in hospital, he went back to the RCM. He then spent a year at the Paris Conservatoire, studying with the virtuoso violinist René Benedetti. After a year teaching music at Eton, he joined the Martin Quartet in 1949 as second fiddle to the Canadian violinist David Martin. | Born in Lincoln to Herbert, a carpenter, and Ethel (nee Roberts), Marriner was taught the violin and piano by his father before opting for the violin and studying with Frederick Mountney. He was educated at Lincoln school and entered the Royal College of Music in London on a scholarship in 1939. His studies with Edward Elgar’s friend Billy Reed were disrupted by second world war service in Army reconnaissance (1941-43), but on being invalided out, after five months in hospital, he went back to the RCM. He then spent a year at the Paris Conservatoire, studying with the virtuoso violinist René Benedetti. After a year teaching music at Eton, he joined the Martin Quartet in 1949 as second fiddle to the Canadian violinist David Martin. |
| An even more powerful influence was Dart, in whose Jacobean Ensemble he played from 1951; with Dart and such enterprises as the American Vanguard record label, he was in at the beginning of the modern “early music” movement. He also founded the Virtuoso String Trio. But he earned much of his living playing in London orchestras: he was in the Philharmonia when Arturo Toscanini came to conduct in 1952 and he joined the LSO in 1954 as principal second violin, a post he held until 1969. In 1971 he made his debut with the New York Chamber Orchestra. He worked with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the Israel Chamber Orchestra in Tel Aviv, and in 1973 conducted the inaugural concerts of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney. | An even more powerful influence was Dart, in whose Jacobean Ensemble he played from 1951; with Dart and such enterprises as the American Vanguard record label, he was in at the beginning of the modern “early music” movement. He also founded the Virtuoso String Trio. But he earned much of his living playing in London orchestras: he was in the Philharmonia when Arturo Toscanini came to conduct in 1952 and he joined the LSO in 1954 as principal second violin, a post he held until 1969. In 1971 he made his debut with the New York Chamber Orchestra. He worked with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the Israel Chamber Orchestra in Tel Aviv, and in 1973 conducted the inaugural concerts of the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney. |
| In 1977 he made his New York Philharmonic debut with a Mozart programme; and he conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra a good deal. He also worked in Britain with the Northern Sinfonia from 1971, and from 1979 to 1987 was in charge of the Minnesota Orchestra. At the same time he conducted regularly in Germany, notably with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (1986-89). | In 1977 he made his New York Philharmonic debut with a Mozart programme; and he conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra a good deal. He also worked in Britain with the Northern Sinfonia from 1971, and from 1979 to 1987 was in charge of the Minnesota Orchestra. At the same time he conducted regularly in Germany, notably with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (1986-89). |
| From the late 70s he occasionally tackled opera, in both theatre and studio, and he mastered the central choral repertory: from 1975 the Academy had an associated chorus, founded by Laszlo Heltay. More recently Marriner freelanced, but in all the phases of his career he kept in touch with the Academy, only handing the music director’s baton to fellow violinist Joshua Bell in 2011, when he became the Academy’s life president. In 2014 Decca issued a 28-disc box of all his recordings from 1961 to 1982 for L’Oiseau-Lyre, Argo and ASV. | From the late 70s he occasionally tackled opera, in both theatre and studio, and he mastered the central choral repertory: from 1975 the Academy had an associated chorus, founded by Laszlo Heltay. More recently Marriner freelanced, but in all the phases of his career he kept in touch with the Academy, only handing the music director’s baton to fellow violinist Joshua Bell in 2011, when he became the Academy’s life president. In 2014 Decca issued a 28-disc box of all his recordings from 1961 to 1982 for L’Oiseau-Lyre, Argo and ASV. |
| Marriner was not a “deep” conductor, but he was a very good one. His style mirrored his outward appearance, which was neat and dapper, and his manner, which was self-deprecating in an English way. If he lacked the ability of the greatest orchestral directors to see and convey a work as one massive entity, he was able to give each movement of a symphony or concerto a convincing shape. | Marriner was not a “deep” conductor, but he was a very good one. His style mirrored his outward appearance, which was neat and dapper, and his manner, which was self-deprecating in an English way. If he lacked the ability of the greatest orchestral directors to see and convey a work as one massive entity, he was able to give each movement of a symphony or concerto a convincing shape. |
| His Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn and Mozart were buoyant and graceful; he brought expertise and intuitive understanding to 20th-century British string music; and some of his recordings of large works, such as Haydn’s Creation or Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte, have a sheen and glow that will keep them selling for years to come. It would be hard to beat his accompaniment to Viktoria Mullova in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. | His Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Haydn and Mozart were buoyant and graceful; he brought expertise and intuitive understanding to 20th-century British string music; and some of his recordings of large works, such as Haydn’s Creation or Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte, have a sheen and glow that will keep them selling for years to come. It would be hard to beat his accompaniment to Viktoria Mullova in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. |
| For most of the 50s he taught the violin at the RCM, and he later helped many fledgling conductors. He was appointed CBE in 1979, knighted in 1985 and made Companion of Honour in 2015. | |
| His first marriage to the cellist Diana Carbutt, by whom he had two children, Andrew, a clarinettist, who often worked with his father, and Susie, a writer, ended in divorce. In 1957 he married Elizabeth Mary Sims, known as Molly, whose hard work in the struggling early years of the Academy played a major role in its success. | His first marriage to the cellist Diana Carbutt, by whom he had two children, Andrew, a clarinettist, who often worked with his father, and Susie, a writer, ended in divorce. In 1957 he married Elizabeth Mary Sims, known as Molly, whose hard work in the struggling early years of the Academy played a major role in its success. |
| Marriner is survived by Molly, Andrew, Susie, three grandsons, Douglas, Matthew and Milo, and a great-grandson, Frederick.Tully Potter | Marriner is survived by Molly, Andrew, Susie, three grandsons, Douglas, Matthew and Milo, and a great-grandson, Frederick.Tully Potter |
| John Amis writes: Not exactly the Algonquin, but a pleasant, cheap and not nasty eating place next door to the old Mercury theatre in Notting Hill Gate, west London, was where a handful of musos met most days for lunch in the 40s and 50s. Neville was there with his first wife, Diana, the broadcaster Antony Hopkins and the soprano Alison Purves, the violinists Alan Loveday (soloist and leader of the Academy), Olive Zorian (the quartet leader, the leader of Benjamin Britten’s orchestra, and my wife), and sometimes Neville’s teacher and guru, the great Albert Sammons. Talk at lunch was funny and gossipy. Neville was sharp-edged, a good driver, a handyman, nifty at tennis, always lucky and good at cards. With the horn player Barry Tuckwell and clarinettist Gervase de Peyer, Neville (as principal second violin) was one of the new generation of players in the London Symphony Orchestra. They were too brilliant and reliable to get the sack, but they must have got near dismissal at times because they dared to challenge conductors. | John Amis writes: Not exactly the Algonquin, but a pleasant, cheap and not nasty eating place next door to the old Mercury theatre in Notting Hill Gate, west London, was where a handful of musos met most days for lunch in the 40s and 50s. Neville was there with his first wife, Diana, the broadcaster Antony Hopkins and the soprano Alison Purves, the violinists Alan Loveday (soloist and leader of the Academy), Olive Zorian (the quartet leader, the leader of Benjamin Britten’s orchestra, and my wife), and sometimes Neville’s teacher and guru, the great Albert Sammons. Talk at lunch was funny and gossipy. Neville was sharp-edged, a good driver, a handyman, nifty at tennis, always lucky and good at cards. With the horn player Barry Tuckwell and clarinettist Gervase de Peyer, Neville (as principal second violin) was one of the new generation of players in the London Symphony Orchestra. They were too brilliant and reliable to get the sack, but they must have got near dismissal at times because they dared to challenge conductors. |
| During the war the Martin String Quartet, led by David Martin with Neville as its second violinist, had gigged for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, playing in some places that had never had concerts. | During the war the Martin String Quartet, led by David Martin with Neville as its second violinist, had gigged for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, playing in some places that had never had concerts. |
| It was a great moment for the quartet to be invited to play in the Aldeburgh Festival. Britten requested them to play a favourite quartet of his, the Verdi. This quartet has a finale that begins with a fugue, led by the second violin. Just before going on stage David said: “Now Neville, for God’s sake, don’t start off the fugue too fast.” Neville responded by beginning the fugue too slowly by half. Britten was not best pleased. | It was a great moment for the quartet to be invited to play in the Aldeburgh Festival. Britten requested them to play a favourite quartet of his, the Verdi. This quartet has a finale that begins with a fugue, led by the second violin. Just before going on stage David said: “Now Neville, for God’s sake, don’t start off the fugue too fast.” Neville responded by beginning the fugue too slowly by half. Britten was not best pleased. |
| On marrying Diana, who became a bookseller specialising in incunabula, Neville found himself living in the G&T belt, sometimes finding that he was the only one not wearing an old school tie. | |
| Then came the request from his friend John Churchill to give a recital at St Martin in the Fields. He found that several of his string-playing friends had received a similar request. They all had to refuse because, straight our of college, they had not enough repertoire. Then Neville had the bright idea of them combining to make a tiny orchestra, where they would concentrate on not-too-demanding music of the 18th century – ice-cream composers, Neville called them: Corelli, Torelli, Albicastro, Vivaldi. Thus the Academy was born. | Then came the request from his friend John Churchill to give a recital at St Martin in the Fields. He found that several of his string-playing friends had received a similar request. They all had to refuse because, straight our of college, they had not enough repertoire. Then Neville had the bright idea of them combining to make a tiny orchestra, where they would concentrate on not-too-demanding music of the 18th century – ice-cream composers, Neville called them: Corelli, Torelli, Albicastro, Vivaldi. Thus the Academy was born. |
| Fast forward to the new century. Neville’s hair had at last gone white, still playing a good game of tennis in his 80s in the garden court of the cottage on the Dorset-Devon border where he lived with his second wife, Molly. A good cook, a quick packer and a voracious reader, she shaped his career, managed his life and was good at social affairs. Neville no longer directed the Academy but had dates as a conductor, sometimes in three continents in as many weeks. | Fast forward to the new century. Neville’s hair had at last gone white, still playing a good game of tennis in his 80s in the garden court of the cottage on the Dorset-Devon border where he lived with his second wife, Molly. A good cook, a quick packer and a voracious reader, she shaped his career, managed his life and was good at social affairs. Neville no longer directed the Academy but had dates as a conductor, sometimes in three continents in as many weeks. |
| It was a life of music-making of the highest quality that gave pleasure to many. And if he excelled in the lighter classics on the whole, he could on occasion dig deep: he recorded a thrilling Eroica symphony, his Metamorphosen challenges Klemperer and Karajan in its emotional depth; and his set of the Handel Concerto Grossos is still the most satisfying in the catalogue. | It was a life of music-making of the highest quality that gave pleasure to many. And if he excelled in the lighter classics on the whole, he could on occasion dig deep: he recorded a thrilling Eroica symphony, his Metamorphosen challenges Klemperer and Karajan in its emotional depth; and his set of the Handel Concerto Grossos is still the most satisfying in the catalogue. |
| • Neville Marriner, conductor and violinist, born 15 April 1924; died 2 October 2016 | • Neville Marriner, conductor and violinist, born 15 April 1924; died 2 October 2016 |
| • John Amis died in 2013 | • John Amis died in 2013 |