Page 369 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

09 April 2024

Depth and delivery: Joshua Bell and the Academy

of St Martin in the Fields in San Francisco

By Lois Silverstein, 09 April 2024

What was unique about Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields' concert in
San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall was its depth and delivery of life. It was not only
lively it was alive. From the first downbeat, we were happily caught in – and by – the
present. There was the music, happening right before us, with Bell standing face-front au
central of the orchestra. Flight of Moving Days by Vince Mendoza was given only its fourth
performance, with jazz percussionist Douglas Marriner, grandson of the ASMF’s founder,
Sir Neville Marriner. The new work, derived in part from Philip Larkin’s poem Days, was
notable for its juxtaposition of drum and violin against the backdrop of the post-romantic
sized-orchestra. Larkin wrote, “What are days for?/Days are where we live” and so the
improvisational music unfolding around us throughout was particularly apt.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields
© Benjamin Ealovega