Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Encyclopedia
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber
orchestra
, based in London.
Sir Neville Marriner
founded the ensemble as The Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields in London as a small, conductorless
string
group. The ensemble's name comes from Trafalgar Square
's St Martin-in-the-Fields
church, where the orchestra gave its first concert on November 13, 1959. In 1988, the ASMF dropped the hyphens from its full name. The orchestra incorporated in February 1971 as "A.S.M. (Orchestra) Limited", with Marriner as chairman until 1992, when Malcolm Latchem succeeded Marriner. John Heley took on the post in 1994. Marriner holds the title of Life President with the ASMF.
The initial performances as a string orchestra at St Martin-in-the-Fields
' church played a key role in the revival of baroque
performances in England. The orchestra has since expanded to include winds
. It remains flexible in size, changing its make-up to suit its repertoire, which ranges from the Baroque to contemporary works. The orchestra presently has three sections, the main group, which is conducted by Marriner. A chamber ensemble, formed for performing a large scale string section conducted by the Artistic Director, Kenneth Sillito. And the smallest group was made specifically for touring.
Neville Marriner continued to perform obbligatos and concertino solos with the orchestra until 1969, and led the orchestra on recordings until the autumn of 1970, when he switched to conducting from the podium from directing the ensemble from the leader's desk. On recordings, besides Marriner, Iona Brown
and Kenneth Sillito have led the ASMF. Since 2000, Murray Perahia
has held the title of principal guest conductor of the ASMF, and has made commercial recordings with the ensemble as pianist and conductor. In May 2011, the ASMF announced the appointment of Joshua Bell
as its new music director, the second person to hold the title in the ensemble's history, effective September 2011, with an initial contract of 3 years.
The orchestra's first recording was for the L'Oiseau-Lyre
label at Conway Hall on March 25, 1961. The orchestra has since accumulated a vast discography, and is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world, with over 500 sessions. Other labels the orchestra has recorded for include Argo, Capriccio Records, Chandos Records
, Decca Records
, EMI
, Hänssler Classic, Philips Records
, and Hyperion Records
. The orchestra has also recorded under the names "Argo Chamber Orchestra", "London String Players", and "London Strings." The ASMF has played on the film soundtracks of Amadeus
(1984), The English Patient
, and Titanic
(1997). The ASMF's best-selling recording is the Amadeus soundtrack.
Affiliated with the ASMF is the Chorus
of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which Laszlo Heltay formed in 1975. Heltay directed the chorus until 2002, when Johan Duijck
succeeded him in the post. It is regularly heard on European television singing the UEFA Champions League Anthem.
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, based in London.
Sir Neville Marriner
Neville Marriner
Sir Neville Marriner is an English conductor and violinist.-Biography:Marriner was born in Lincoln and studied at the Royal College of Music and the Paris Conservatoire. He played the violin in the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Martin String Quartet and London Symphony Orchestra, playing with the...
founded the ensemble as The Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields in London as a small, conductorless
Conductorless orchestra
The conductorless orchestra, sometimes referred to as a self-conducted orchestra or unconducted orchestra, is an instrumental ensemble that functions as an orchestra but is not led or directed by a conductor. Most conductorless orchestras are smaller in size, and generally perform chamber orchestra...
string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
group. The ensemble's name comes from Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
's St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Its patron is Saint Martin of Tours.-Roman era:Excavations at the site in 2006 led to the discovery of a grave dated about 410...
church, where the orchestra gave its first concert on November 13, 1959. In 1988, the ASMF dropped the hyphens from its full name. The orchestra incorporated in February 1971 as "A.S.M. (Orchestra) Limited", with Marriner as chairman until 1992, when Malcolm Latchem succeeded Marriner. John Heley took on the post in 1994. Marriner holds the title of Life President with the ASMF.
The initial performances as a string orchestra at St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Its patron is Saint Martin of Tours.-Roman era:Excavations at the site in 2006 led to the discovery of a grave dated about 410...
' church played a key role in the revival of baroque
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
performances in England. The orchestra has since expanded to include winds
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
. It remains flexible in size, changing its make-up to suit its repertoire, which ranges from the Baroque to contemporary works. The orchestra presently has three sections, the main group, which is conducted by Marriner. A chamber ensemble, formed for performing a large scale string section conducted by the Artistic Director, Kenneth Sillito. And the smallest group was made specifically for touring.
Neville Marriner continued to perform obbligatos and concertino solos with the orchestra until 1969, and led the orchestra on recordings until the autumn of 1970, when he switched to conducting from the podium from directing the ensemble from the leader's desk. On recordings, besides Marriner, Iona Brown
Iona Brown
Iona Brown, OBE was a British violinist and conductor.Elizabeth Iona Brown was born in Salisbury. Her parents Antony and Fiona were both musicians...
and Kenneth Sillito have led the ASMF. Since 2000, Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia KBE is an American concert pianist and conductor.-Early life:Murray Perahia was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin. According to the biography on his Mozart piano sonatas CD, his first language was Judaeo-Spanish or, Ladino. The family...
has held the title of principal guest conductor of the ASMF, and has made commercial recordings with the ensemble as pianist and conductor. In May 2011, the ASMF announced the appointment of Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell
Joshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
as its new music director, the second person to hold the title in the ensemble's history, effective September 2011, with an initial contract of 3 years.
The orchestra's first recording was for the L'Oiseau-Lyre
L'Oiseau-Lyre
L'Oiseau-Lyre may refer to:* Éditions de l'Oiseau-Lyre, French-Australian Music publishers* L'Oiseau-Lyre , an classical early music label owned by Decca Records since 1970...
label at Conway Hall on March 25, 1961. The orchestra has since accumulated a vast discography, and is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world, with over 500 sessions. Other labels the orchestra has recorded for include Argo, Capriccio Records, Chandos Records
Chandos Records
Chandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
, Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, Hänssler Classic, Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
, and Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
. The orchestra has also recorded under the names "Argo Chamber Orchestra", "London String Players", and "London Strings." The ASMF has played on the film soundtracks of Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
(1984), The English Patient
The English Patient (film)
The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...
, and Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
(1997). The ASMF's best-selling recording is the Amadeus soundtrack.
Affiliated with the ASMF is the Chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, which Laszlo Heltay formed in 1975. Heltay directed the chorus until 2002, when Johan Duijck
Johan Duijck
Johan Duijck is a Belgian composer and conductor.He is the conductor of the Flemish Radio Choir, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chorus in London and the Gents Madrigaalkoor...
succeeded him in the post. It is regularly heard on European television singing the UEFA Champions League Anthem.
Sources
- Stuart, Philip. Marriner and the Academy – A Record Partnership. London: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, 1999.