Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
A small orchestra specializing in music of the Baroque and Classical eras, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields became one of the most popular ensembles in the entire field of classical music, making albums that topped classical charts and even made an impact in pop. The group's seamless sound was identified in the minds of many listeners with that of Baroque music itself.
The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (the name has been spelled both with and without the hyphens, and with and without the period after "St") was formed in 1958 by violinist Neville Marriner, who was interested in exploring the then largely new field of Baroque music with a group of other musicians. Performing without a conductor until market forces dictated that Marriner take the post, the group played its first concert on November 13, 1959, at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and took its name from that venue. The orchestra began recording in 1961 on the L'Oiseau-Lyre label, championed by its founder, Louise Hanson-Dyer, and at first, finding more success with recordings than with concert appearances. The Academy moved to the early music-oriented Argo label in 1965. Appearances on the BBC Proms programs brought the group to a wider public, and in 1970 it incorporated, under the direction of Marriner and other founders, as a fully professional ensemble. Soundtrack performances in BBC television films added to the Academy's financial stability. Although he took up the conductor's baton, Marriner preferred to lead the orchestra from the first violinist's chair, and as violinists Iona Brown and Kenneth Sillito took over the group's direction on occasion, they followed the same practice in Baroque works. After Sillito's retirement in 2012, violinist Joshua Bell was named the music director. Pianist Murray Perahia has been the principal guest conductor since 2000; Perahia had for some time led the group in conductorless performances of Mozart and other Classical-period piano concertos.
The Academy's repertory also expanded over time, coming to include the Wagner Siegfried Idyll and even contemporary works. The original Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra grew to include several subgroups, the Chamber Ensemble (formed 1967), which focused on small-group chamber music for strings, and a larger grouping that could include as many as 45 musicians. A Chorus of St. Martin in the Fields, formed in 1975 for a tour performance of Bach's Mass in B minor, BWV 232, grew into an independent organization. The Academy continued to perform at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and added a short Royal Festival Hall Season as its popularity grew.
However, recordings remained at the center of the group's activities, and to date, it has issued more than 500 albums. Its recording schedule often involved more than a dozen albums a year. The orchestra moved to the Philips label in 1971; it has since recorded for Decca, London, ASV, and other labels. One milestone was the orchestra's 1984 recording of the score for the film Amadeus, which topped classical charts, appeared on pop charts, and remains one of the best-selling classical albums of all time. In 2019, the Academy, with young pianist Jan Lisiecki conducting from the keyboard, issued a complete recording of Beethoven's piano concertos on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
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Academy of St Martin in the Fields - Mozart
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 10 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart Live 1978 (Live)
Jessye Norman, Alfred Brendel, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1978
Gramophone Editor's Choice16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: 12 Concerti Grossi, Op.6
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown
Classical - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 Nos. 1–6
Thurston Dart, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1968
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphony No. 22 'The Philosopher'; Symphony No. 55 'The Schoolmaster' (Sir Neville Marriner – Haydn: Symphonies, Volume 2)
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky/Sibelius: Violin Concertos
Leila Josefowicz, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphony Nos. 38 "Prague" & 39
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 24 Oct 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Quintette "La Truite" - Adagio et Rondo concertante
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Chamber Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 2002
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Highlights)
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Aug 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Symphony No. 31 'Horn Signal'; Symphony No. 73 'La Chasse' (Sir Neville Marriner – Haydn: Symphonies, Volume 3)
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Handel: Acis and Galatea
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1978
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Walton: Film Music, Vol. 2
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Cinema Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Aug 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Quintet in C Major & Septet
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Chamber Music - Released by Chandos on 1 Mar 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: The Paris Symphonies Nos. 82-87
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Music of Dinu Lipatti
Luiza Borac, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Avie Records on 5 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No.7; Wellington's Victory
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6; Overture "Consecration Of The House"
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Dec 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jun 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4; Grosse Fuge
Sir Neville Marriner, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Mar 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerti di caccia
Hermann Baumann, Radovan Vlatković, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Iona Brown
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jun 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trumpet Recital: Friedrich, Reinhold - HUMMEL, J.N. / HAYDN, M. / HAYDN, F.J. / MOZART, L.
Reinhold Friedrich, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Concertos - Released by CapriccioNR on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo