Page 217 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

of Britten’s Serenade and Les Illuminations made with Robert Tear and the Northern Sinfonia,
Alan Civil’s horn-playing in the Serenade as good as any on disc. I’d not heard Marriner’s disc
coupling Frank Martin’s wonderful Petite Symphonie Concertante with Bloch’s Concerto Grosso
No. 1 before. Both are masterpieces: Marriner taking Bloch’s first movement at a brilliantly
incisive lick while the Martin (a few balance issues apart) glows. There’s an excellent complete
account of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with decent singers, and zingy, rhythmically taut readings
of Dumbarton Oaks and the Danses Concertantes made with the Los Angeles Chamber
Orchestra, a group which Marriner led from 1969 to 1987. He was also principal conductor of the
Minnesota Orchestra in the 1980s though didn’t record much with them: two LPs of Britten and
Copland are decent but non-essential.

Turn instead to Marriner’s Tippett anthology, the Concerto for Double String Orchestra almost as
good as the earlier Argo version, and with the rarely-heard Divertimento on “Sellinger’s Round” –
not peak Tippett, but good to hear. Or frothy collections of overtures by Suppé and Cherubini,
Marriner tackling even the shortest of miniatures with real respect and affection. We get most of
Grieg’s incidental music to Peer Gynt with soprano Lucia Popp (who also contributes a disc of
arias from Viennese operettas), while horn-players will relish three collaborations with Barry
Tuckwell, whose performance of Weber’s insanely-difficult Concertino is a classic. Respighi’s
delicious Trittico botticelliano and The Birds are nicely done, and do investigate a collection of
rarities by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, whose tiny overture to Il segreto di Suzanna (her secret being
that she smokes) is a guaranteed mood lifter. Suites from Bizet’s Carmen and L’Arlésienne are
coupled with a joyous version of the posthumously published Symphony in C, an LP I can
remember borrowing when record libraries were still a thing.

Marriner will always be associated with baroque and classical repertoire, where his
interpretations face stiffer competition. Still, these performances of Bach’s Brandenburgs and
keyboard concertos (with Andrei Gavrilov) on modern instruments are stylish and involving, and
a well-upholstered account of Charpentier’s lovely Te Deum (the one with the Eurovision theme)
stands up well. I’d not encountered Mozart’s ballet Les Petits Riens before (it’s delightful), and I
enjoyed a selection of the piano concertos played by Christian Zacharias. There’s a generous
sequence of Mozart symphonies which prioritise elegance over drama, and discs of Haydn
Masses made with the Staatskapelle Dresden. Handel’s Messiah (taped in Stuttgart) is sung in
German, Popp and Brigitte Fassbaender among the singers: that Marriner could attract such
starry soloists must reflect how much musicians enjoyed working with him. Unexpected items
include The Academy plays Opera (listen out for Cynthia Millar on ondes Martenot), John Harle
playing saxophone concertos and four Oscar Wilde fairy tales, narrated by Vanessa Redgrave
and Stephen Fry with music by Debbie Wiseman - a mixture which doesn’t quite gel. Tully
Potter’s biographical essay is interesting, and it’s good that Warner have reproduced EMI’s
original sleeve designs.
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