Celebrating 100 years of Sir Neville Marriner
As the Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder Sir Neville Marriner, we discover what his legacy means to five of its key supporters
Sir Neville Marriner epitomised the fine orchestral musician: an interpreter, initiator, guide and highly curious soul. He understood better than most how to achieve that perfect balance between individual freedom, fun, trust and perfectionism and directed this spirit into the ASMF from
the very beginning. A born leader, he attracted people to his tribe with his playful, foxy charm but his chosen musicians always had the freedom to be themselves. He found musical magic through a combination of unusual, free-spirited characters and this ensured that talented people always wanted to work with him.
The Academy has retained this unique flavour. It is elastic, flexible and constantly morphing from one shape and size to another. The enormous amount of touring that we have always done inspires, stimulates and bonds the players. After all, we explore the world together. Each player has the freedom to pick and choose projects, coming in fresh and raring to go and knowing they are part of an understanding community.
Working with player-directors (as Neville was) or conductors (which Neville became) has kept things fresh, immediate, variable and exciting. I think I can safely say that an Academy date in the diary is something we all look forward to and savour. That, is Neville’s legacy – to his players and his audiences. The fizz and pop of anticipation and the thrill of the result.
Neville and his wife Molly conjured something up at their kitchen table over tea and crumpets in the late 1950s, when they put together the first Academy of St Martin concerts, and what we now have is an utterly unique orchestra, famous all over the world for its sound, flexibility and virtuosity.
I hope Sir Nev, our Don, the captain of this incredible spaceship for so many years, is having a chuckle with us, wherever he is, and wherever we go. We always mention him, and his name keeps us all smiling – this beautiful Academy madness would quite simply not exist without him.
Miranda Playfair
Violin, Academy of St Martin in the Fields
I look at my father’s legacy from two angles, as a musician and former member of the Academy, and as a son. The perspectives are different but related, held together by awareness of, and gratitude for, his warmth, energy and dedication.
It’s impossible to ignore his 600 recordings of around 400 composers. But he also had a less tangible effect on music-making with his collaborative approach to rehearsals, which still managed to achieve a cohesive result (“his way”!) in performance. In 50 years at the helm there was never a hint of routine, either in concert or in the studio, and Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields carry this spirit of freshness forward.
At home, too, he worked in partnership – with my mother as the first manager of the band, and with the band actually rehearsing in the drawing room. As a youthful observer, I could not have had a better demonstration of how a strong artistic vision and staunch collaboration can make for success and reward, though only in that order and as a by-product of the core musical objective.
As for the personal legacy, it is as enduring as the music; there were so many acts of kindness and generosity – unheralded and unconditional – to colleagues and friends alike. As a son I enjoyed the discreet support of my musical development and, later, the luxury of freedom to enjoy the best aspects of music-making in the knowledge that my parents were there for me, should anything go awry. In a world where you are only as good as your last concert this was a comfort that is not extended to many jobbing musicians.
He would be thrilled to know that the orchestra and players that he loved continue to flourish.
Andrew Marriner
Board Member, Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Often, on the management side of our industry, our role is
to be a steward for organisations that existed long before
we were born and will long outlive us. For me, the importance of stewardship is enhanced with the ASMF, having grown up
as a young musician who loved this orchestra. I have both
a personal and a professional desire to ensure that
Neville’s legacy outlasts us all and that the Academy
continues to flourish and thrive for decades (centuries!)
to come. The aspect of Neville’s legacy founding the
orchestra which resonates most with me is the way he
brought together brilliant musician friends who wanted to make music together away from the controlling and challenging nature of much of the London music scene at that time.
Player autonomy is key, and the empowerment of our musicians in their music-making and across all areas of our work is what sets us apart.
We are celebrating Neville’s legacy in 2024 by increasing the extent to which our musicians have control, launching our new “Marriner Projects” initiative where we will fund player-led and player-masterminded initiatives. You see it, too, in the way that this orchestra performs together, with every musician taking an extraordinary level of responsibility. As one player described it to me recently – the role is “to create, not to disseminate”. Every single time I have the pleasure of touring with this orchestra, or hearing them rehearse or perform, I am reminded of how intensely fortunate we are to build upon Neville’s legacy of democratic music-making and share this with audiences around the world.
Annie Lydford
Chief Executive, Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Working with the ASMF musicians shows me that Sir Neville Marriner’s legacy lies in the culture he created, which lives both on and off-stage. Through releasing players from the traditional hierarchies he allowed them to collaborate and create as equals: every player gets a say, they all have skin in the game and each person both offers and receives support. It’s this environment that allows the musicians to create the outstanding performances they do.
The giving and receiving extends off-stage into our work with London’s homeless community and our new SoundWalk which was launched as part of the Marriner100 celebrations. These initiatives reflect the environment of the rehearsal room, an atmosphere Sir Neville created.
Those we work with come from a variety of circumstances, including being homeless, sofa-surfing or living in temporary or insecure accommodation. Day-to-day life looks very different for them and safety, connection and feeling valued are irregular. The chance to explore and create offers an escape from the pressures of everyday life and a chance to feel productive. I was speaking recently to one of the participants who helped us create the SoundWalk, and she told me what she thought of the music sessions: “It’s different to school where we’re told what to do.
We’re given lots of help initially, but from there we can develop our own ideas.” Feeling empowered connects directly to the foundations of the orchestra.
Freedom, openness and vulnerability comes from the trusting relationships the musicians have built up over time, which enables them to bring their all. In our homelessness work, building trust slowly with the participants helps them create alongside us. Our participant said this too: “Taking part in the group is helping me learn to communicate with other people and know that people are there for you.
They show me that we’re all together, I’m not alone, and that will be helpful if I go to work again.”
Great things come from being surrounded by people who support and encourage you in equal measure. These attributes are well honed in our musicians, and they are experts in creating that environment wherever they go. That, for me, is what Sir Neville has left behind: a beacon for providing the conditions in which people can flourish.
Callum Given
Head of Social Purpose, Academy of St Martin in the Fields
I first met Neville in my teens, when my mother, violinist Ursula Snow, played with the Academy. Sometimes I would go along to listen to rehearsals. Neville was always genial and welcoming, and even once asked me to turn pages for the harpsichordist during a recording session. I think my mum probably told him that I composed, and in 1985, when I joined the Academy as a viola player, he asked me if he could hear something. I gave him a cassette, and a year later, he wrote to me, apologising for taking so long, and inviting me to write something for the Academy. It was a fantastic request, but I knew instinctively that I wasn’t ready. I asked if I could defer this opportunity, and contacted him a couple of years later, by which time I was living in Scotland, composing full-time, and no longer playing. He commissioned me to write for the 35th anniversary celebration concert in the Royal Festival Hall in 1994, and I wrote Walking Back, about returning to my Scottish roots.
Several more commissions followed over the years, including Variations on a Theme of Benjamin Britten. Britten’s Frank Bridge Variations were close to my heart, having heard the Academy perform them when my mum was playing, and later often performing them myself with the smaller bands directed by Ken Sillito and Iona Brown.
The Academy was notable for its early inclusion of women in the ‘60s, and this continued. Neville only cared about finding the musicians who would bring something to the band. He assembled an extraordinary alchemy of personalities, who interacted with humour and respect. He was always open to ideas but did not defer to anyone.
When Neville invited me to be the Academy’s first Composer-in-Residence, it seemed a culmination of his support and trust, and an opportunity to acknowledge the inspiration he had provided since my childhood. However, the meeting I had with Neville about the residency, in December 2015, was to be the last time I saw him [he died in October the following year at the age of 92]. We decided on a chamber orchestra work, and a string octet. The orchestral piece, Hover, is dedicated to Neville’s memory. It’s inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem The Windhover, which describes a falcon – and in many ways the music describes Neville. There is warmth – even oblique references to Britten, Walton, Vaughan Williams – but also moments of sharp focus. Neville was a free spirit, who knew what he wanted, and
missed nothing.
Sally Beamish OBE
ASMF Composer in Residence (2019-20) and Marriner 100 Committee Member