Academy of St Martin in the Fields
| Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) | |
|---|---|
| Former name | The Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Location | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Principal conductor | Joshua Bell |
| Website | www.asmf.org |
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 original group numbered 11, all male. 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. 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.
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 among others. 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.[1]
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.[2][3]
Recordings [edit]
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 one of 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.[4] 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), and The English Patient. The ASMF's best-selling recording is the Amadeus soundtrack.
References [edit]
Notes
- ^ Andrew Clements (2003-10-31). "Bach, Italian Concerto; Brandenburg Concerto No 5; Concerto for Flute, Violin and Piano: Perahia/Academy of St Martin in the Fields". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ "New Music Director" (Press release). Academy of St Martin in the Fields. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ Michael Roddy (2011-05-27). "U.S. violinist Bell takes over London ensemble". Reuters. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
- ^ Tim Ashley (2005-11-11). "Weill/ Vasks: Violin Concertos, Marwood/ Academy of St Martin in the Fields". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
Sources
- Stuart, Philip. Marriner and the Academy – A Record Partnership. London: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, 1999.
External links [edit]
- Official Academy of St Martin in the Fields website
- Music & Vision page on appointment of Johan Duijck
Coordinates: 51°31′25″N 0°05′46″W / 51.5237°N 0.09609°W
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