Neville Marriner

Sir Neville Marriner

Sir Neville Marriner, CH, CBE (born 15 April 1924) is an English conductor and violinist.

Biography

Marriner was born in Lincoln, England, and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He played the violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Martin String Quartet and London Symphony Orchestra,^[1] playing with the last two for 13 years.^[2] He later formed the Jacobean Ensemble with Thurston Dart before going to Hancock, Maine, in the United States to study conducting with Pierre Monteux at his school there. In 1958, he founded the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra and recorded copiously with them.

Marriner was the 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 1986 to 1989.^[3]

Marriner has recorded for various labels, including Argo, L'Oiseau Lyre, Philips and EMI Classics. His recorded repertoire ranges from the baroque era^[4] to 20th century British music, as well as opera. Among his recordings are two CDs of British music for Philips Classics with Julian Lloyd Webber, including acclaimed performances of Benjamin Britten's Cello Symphony and Sir William Walton's Cello Concerto. Marriner also supervised the Mozart selections for the soundtrack of the 1984 film Amadeus.^[5]

He was chairman of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra until 1992, when he was succeeded by Malcolm Latchem. Marriner holds the title of Life President. He is the father of the clarinettist Andrew Marriner, principal clarinet of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Honours

Marriner was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979. He was created a Knight Bachelor in 1985.^[6] In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH).^[7]

References

1. Charlotte Higgins (14 February 2007). "One hundred years of attitude". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-09-06.
2. Anthony Kirby (1 June 2000). "Sir Neville Marriner: Beyond the Academy". Lo Scena Musicale. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
3. "NEVILLE MARRINER". NAXOS. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
4. Goldman, Richard Franko, "Reviews of Records: Italian Concertos" (April 1966). The Musical Quarterly, 52 (2): pp. 268-270.
5. Philip French (28 July 2002). "Amadeus". The Observer. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
6. "(Supplement) nr. 47888. p. 4". thegazette.co.uk, London Gazette. 26 June 1979. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
7. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 61256. p. B6. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.

External links

• Neville Marriner discography at Discogs
• Neville Marriner at the Internet Movie Database