“The British conductor and violinist, Sir Neville Marriner, has died at the age of 92, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields says,” reads an unsigned obituary on Sunday’s (10/2) BBC website. “Sir Neville started his musical career with the London Symphony Orchestra. He later established the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras.… A statement from the academy said its founder had passed away peacefully in the early hours of Sunday. Born in Lincoln in 1924, Sir Neville studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He first played in a string quartet, then in the London Symphony Orchestra, during which time he decided to form a chamber ensemble from London’s finest players … taking their name from the London church of St. Martin in the Fields, where they staged their first performance in 1959.… Sir Neville has been widely honoured for his work which includes recording the soundtrack for the 1984 film, Amadeus, and becoming the oldest conductor to lead at the Proms, in 2014 at the age of 90.” Among the many orchestras Marriner conducted was the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, where he served as the group’s first music director from 1969 to 1978.
Posted October 3, 2016
