ABSTRACT
British violinist and conductor, born in Lincoln. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Paris Conservatory. He was a violinist with the Martin String Quartet in 1946-1953, then with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1956-1968. In 1959 he formed a chamber orchestra in London with the name Academy of St. Martin-in-theFields (in the Trafalgar Square church), and achieved international stature with performances of music from the baroque to the 20th century. Successful recordings were made for Argo, Philips, and EMI. Marriner formed a similar orchestra in the U.S., the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, then another in Australia. Marriner served as the director of the original Academy ensemble until 1978,when he was appointed to the directorship of the Minnesota Orchestra, a position he held until 1985, the same year he was knighted. He directed the Academy group in the Mozart music of the motion picture Amadeus (1984) and later for the film Valmont (1989). From 1983-1989, he was the chief conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra. While continuing to conduct the Academy orchestra, Marriner has worked as a freelance conductor with opera and symphony orchestras around the world since the early 1990s.
