Neville Marriner facts for kids
Sir Neville Marriner, CH, CBE (born April 15, 1924 – died October 2, 2016) was a famous English violin player. He was also known as one of the world's greatest conductors. A music magazine called Gramophone listed him as one of the top 50 conductors ever. Another list placed him as the 14th greatest conductor of all time.
Sir Neville Marriner started a music group called the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. He and this group made more recordings than any other orchestra and conductor team.
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Early Life and Learning Music
Neville Marriner was born in Lincoln, England. His father, Herbert Marriner, was a carpenter. His mother was Ethel Roberts. He went to Lincoln School. There, he played in a jazz band with a composer named Steve Race.
He first learned to play the violin and piano from his father. Later, he studied the violin with Frederick Mountney. In 1939, he went to the Royal College of Music in London. During World War II, many musicians joined the army. This gave Neville a chance to play violin with the London Symphony Orchestra.
In 1941, he joined the British Army himself. He worked in a reconnaissance role, which means he gathered information. But in 1943, he had to leave the army because of kidney problems. He went back to the Royal College of Music. He continued his violin studies there. He also studied at the Paris Conservatoire.
Starting a Music Career
For a short time, Marriner was a music teacher at Eton College. In 1948, he became a professor at the Royal College of Music. Around that time, he joined the Martin String Quartet as a second violinist. He played with them for 13 years.
He also met a harpsichord player named Thurston Dart. A harpsichord is an old keyboard instrument. They formed a music duo together. This group grew into the Virtuoso String Trio. These groups led to Dart's Jacobean Ensemble, where Marriner played from 1951.
Marriner also played violin in two London orchestras. He played for the Philharmonia Orchestra in the early 1950s. Then, he was the main second violin for the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) from 1954 to 1969. He also played with other small music groups. These included the chamber orchestras of Reginald Jacques and Boyd Neel. He also played with the London Mozart Players.
Leading the Academy of St Martin in the Fields
In 1958, Neville Marriner started the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. It began as a small group of twelve musicians. Soon, it grew into a larger chamber orchestra. Many talented musicians joined, like Iona Brown and Christopher Hogwood.
Marriner and the Academy made many recordings. Their first recordings in the early 1960s were very popular. At first, Marriner both conducted and played the lead violin. But Pierre Monteux, who was the LSO's conductor, told Marriner to focus more on conducting. Marriner had studied conducting with Monteux in the United States.
Marriner was also the first music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He led them from 1969 to 1978. From 1979 to 1986, he was the music director of the Minnesota Orchestra. He also led the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 1989.
He remained the music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields until 2011. Then, Joshua Bell took over. Marriner continued to be the Life President until he passed away. He also conducted many other orchestras around the world. These included the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. He kept conducting even when he was in his nineties. In 2014, at age 90, he became the oldest conductor at a Proms concert.
The Telegraph newspaper praised the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. They said the group's performances of baroque and classical music were "fresh" and "technically brilliant." Marriner liked to use modern instruments. Some people, like Hogwood, thought he should have tried for a more "authentic" old sound. Later, Marriner expanded the Academy's music to include Romantic and early-modern pieces.
Marriner made over 600 recordings. These covered 2,000 different musical works. This is more than almost any other conductor. He recorded for many different music companies. His recordings included music from the baroque time to 20th-century British music. He also recorded operas.
He helped choose the Mozart music for the 1984 film Amadeus. This film won an Oscar. The soundtrack became one of the most popular classical music recordings ever. It sold over 6.5 million copies.
Family Life and Passing Away
Neville Marriner was married two times. His first wife was Diana Carbutt, a cellist. They married in 1949. They had two children: Susie, a writer, and Andrew Marriner. Andrew is a clarinet player. He often worked with his father and is now the main clarinet player for the London Symphony Orchestra.
Neville Marriner's first marriage ended. He then married Elizabeth Mary Sims in 1957. He lived in London. Later in life, he had a second home near Chardstock in Devon. When asked what he wanted on his gravestone, he simply said: "Follow the beat." Neville Marriner passed away on October 2, 2016, when he was 92 years old.
Awards and Honours
Marriner received many important awards. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979. In 1985, he became a Knight Bachelor, which means he was given the title "Sir." In 2015, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH).
He also received an award from France, called an officer of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His recordings of Mozart's music won two awards from the Austrian Music Academy.
See also
In Spanish: Neville Marriner para niños
