Page 126 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book
P. 126
16 April 2024
Neville Marriner, a chef at the service of
a good midway taste
On April 15, the centenary of the master's birth was celebrated. An opportune moment to
look back on the career of this leader of the golden mean.
By Serge Martin
Published on 04/16/2024 at 04:41 PM 4 min read
With his Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Neville Marriner has created the model of light
orchestras halfway between large symphonic phalanxes and historically informed ensembles.
Let's take a look back at Warner Classics' comprehensive tribute and Decca and Eminence's
Beethoven and Handel reissues.
In search of new balances
It's the end of the 50's and a group of gifted musicians are tirelessly rehearsing in the church
of St Martin in the fields in search of a lighter sound, airy structures, a more nervous playing
capable of serving the baroque universe that traditional orchestras still confine to a too thick
seriousness. Thurson Dart serves as a mentor to them: this means that, if they do not play on
period instruments (this approach will soon come to others), they are nevertheless already
historically informed. They gave their first concert in 1959 and soon invigorating recordings
were released by Argo, an adventurous subsidiary of Decca. And from the outset, there was a
craze for these nervous and incisive Handels, who were full of rhythms and colours. A
