Page 207 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

10 March 2024

ARTILLERY ROW LEBRECHT'S ALBUM OF THE WEEK
10 March, 2024
By

• Norman Lebrecht

★★★★★

The conductor Sir Neville Marriner, who would have turned 100 next month, was 16 when
he was called into the London Symphony Orchestra violins on the outbreak of the Second
World War. He played Proms with Henry Wood and, after the War, concerts under
Toscanini, Furtwängler, Karajan, Klemperer, Britten and Pierre Monteux, the last of whom
said he would make a good conductor. Much of what passes for conducting is imitation and
intimation; Marriner learned from the best.

This is a Beethoven set to have close to hand, the one to show friends how a tricky
phrase should ideally go
Practical in rehearsal, unassuming on the night, he was underrated by critics who seek grand
gestures as their reward for attendance. Working musicians, by contrast, recognised him as a
colleague of uncommon sensitivity and unfailing humanity. The present 1980s set of
Beethoven symphonies is proof of his rare combination of responsiveness and personal style.