Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2017)

This April 15th would have been the centenary of the birth of conductor Sir Neville Marriner, the founder of the Academy of St Martin-in-the Fields, an eminent conductor. The BBC celebrated this centenary with a series of his recordings and I watched and listened to Marriner conduct his Academy Orchestra who played Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony and Schubert’s Unfinished 10th.

These were televised historic Proms presented by Richard Baker and Dame Jane Glover.

Richard Baker was old school BBC with his rich voice, his training as a newscaster and he was deeply knowledgeable on classical music.

He passed away in 2017 and, interestingly enough, was decorated for his war service on the Arctic convoys.

Josef Stalin can and did complain that the Allies took too long to open a second front but the convoy to Archangel to deliver supplies to Russia in arctic conditions – and ever present U-Boat danger – was no mean feat.

Dame Jane Glover was a distinguished musicologist who interviewed the Professor Of Music who, in effect, finished Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony.

Marriner was dressed in a white tie.

The modern conductor – even once getting on like Daniel Barenboim – tends to prefer the hip black suit.

The orchestra too was in white tie. It might seem dated and of its time but I still preferred this recording to those presented by Katie Derham.

Felix Mendelssohn was a prodigy castigated by the Nazis, who preferred the anti-demotic Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss to the Jewish composer, who has recently been critiqued by the sisterhood who regard the real talent as his sister Fanny.

The Italian and Scottish symphonies of Mendelssohn are two of my favourites.

The Scottish has a highland jig and the Italian a caprice of an Italian dance, both reflecting the native country.

The Unfinished is a more sombre work as Schubert surely knows the Grim Reaper was not to be kept way for long.

Neville Marriner, who also had a distinguished war record, conducted both majestically.