Exhibition: Marriner 100

15th April 2024 will mark the centenary of the birth of Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016), the world-famous classical musician who enjoyed a long and illustrious career with his own orchestra – the Academy of St Martin in the Fields – and elsewhere.

To commemorate and celebrate Sir Neville’s career and the continuing association of the ASMF with the church, this exhibition will feature record sleeves and boxes, photographs, awards, tributes from friends and colleagues and memorabilia from a life of great achievement and personal enjoyment.

Formed originally as a small band of stringed-instrument professionals who yearned to escape from the ‘tyranny’ of conductors, Marriner’s group, began to release gramophone records in 1962 and grew – both in size and reputation – to become the best-known and most highly sought-after chamber orchestra in the world within a decade. From his early days as leader of the second violins in the London Symphony Orchestra, Marriner was widely regarded as ‘the sharpest tool in the box’. His musicianship, deep interest in the process and potential of recording and his legendary wit combined to make him a unique figure and force in the cultural landscape, which this exhibition aims to reflect.