Sir Neville Marriner
Rivaled only by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Neville Marriner was one of the most important of the early figures who spearheaded the reawakening of modern interest in Baroque and early Classical music. In the 1950s, he founded Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the first British early music ensemble to find a large international audience. Marriner has since become one of the most popular conductors in the world, acclaimed for his interpretations of composers from Bach to Britten.
Marriner was first taught the violin as a child, by his father, and attended the Royal College of Music, beginning at age thirteen. Wounded during World War II, he met future collaborator Thurston Dart during his hospitalization. In 1948 he became professor at the Royal Academy of Music. As well as joining the Martin String Quartet as second violin, he formed a violin-and-harpsichord duet with Dart, and their performances led to the formation of the Jacobean Ensemble, an early music group that recorded the Purcell trio sonatas in 1950. Around this time, he began studying conducting with Pierre Monteux at Monteux's school in Maine. Marriner's reputation in general music circles also grew; in 1956 he was appointed principal second violin with the London Symphony Orchestra.
A turning point came in 1959, when Marriner was asked to supply music for the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in London's Trafalgar Square. Marriner formed a chamber orchestra which he named the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The group's work attracted the attention of the Decca imprint L'Oiseau Lyre, which recorded its performance of Couperin's Les Nations. Favorable reviews and unexpectedly robust sales of this recording led to more recordings for L'Oiseau Lyre and its sister label Argo, and by the end of the 1970s the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields had become the best-selling chamber orchestra in recorded music's history. The group expanded from 13 players to twenty or more, and performed Classical symphonic works and 20th century British music as well as Baroque material. The sound of Marriner's Academy recordings is crisp, with an extremely bright sound, using period performance standards with modern instruments. Marriner's name remains closely associated with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the group now has more than 300 recordings to its credit. These include the soundtrack for the 1984 film Amadeus, for which Marriner selected, arranged, and directed works of Salieri and Pergolesi, in addition to Mozart.
In 1969 Marriner he organized the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and he later took this orchestra on a tour of Europe. Additionally, he served as a guest conductor with leading U.S. orchestras, and in England held an appointment as conductor of the Northern Sinfonia, based in Newcastle. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he spent most of his time in the U.S., primarily as music director and conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra. After being knighted in 1985, Marriner went back to Europe, conducting of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1986-1989. He continued to conduct around the world, including at the Opéra de Lyon, and to record. In 2014, at the age of 90, he became the oldest conductor to lead a Proms concert to date.
His conducting was known for its vitality and brightness, as well as precise ensemble technique, a reflection of his violinist days. In a 1991 interview he said of his style: "I was never a potentate swinging a scepter, but was always in a dialogue with my musicians."
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Symphony No.1; In the South (Alassio)
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Arias
Kathleen Battle, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1990
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Fauré: Requiem / Koechlin: Choral sur le nom de Fauré
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Massenet, J.: Ballet Suites
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan 1, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Debussy, Villa-Lobos & Ibert: Saxophone Concertos
John Harle, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schulhoff: Concerto doppio - Krenek: Concertino - D'Indy: Concert
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Concertos - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky, P.: Suites Nos. 3-4
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan 1, 1988
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Mozart Piano Concertos 19∙20∙21∙23
Hai-Kyung Suh, Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Universal Music Ltd. on Jun 16, 2016
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Bartók: Concerto For Orchestra; Divertimento
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Aug 1, 1991
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Britten: Cello Symphony / Walton: Cello Concerto
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Richard Strauss: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme Suite; Couperin Suite
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Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Sep 15, 1997
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Bizet: Symphony in C Major, WD 33 & L'Arlésienne Suites Nos 1 & 2
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1997
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Beethoven: Overtures
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Aug 1, 2010
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Schumann, R.: Symphonies Nos. 1-4 / Piano Concerto / Symphonic Etudes / Kinderszenen
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Heidrun Holtmann, Dénes Varjon, Sir Neville Marriner, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Stefan Soltesz
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan 1, 2006
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Bruckner, A.: Symphony No. 0 / Motets (Anton Bruckner - Anonymous)
Classical - Released by Capriole on Jan 1, 1993
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The Best Of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1984
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Neville Marriner - The Early Recordings
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Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2014
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Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Mar 11, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Overtures
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Mar 10, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 & 1812 Overture
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jul 12, 1994
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Dvorak, A.: Carnival / Othello / the Water Goblin / Overture To Dimitrij
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Classical - Released by CapriccioNR on Jan 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo