Academy of St Martin in the Fields

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English chamber orchestra, based in London.

For the girls' school under the aegis of the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, see St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls.

Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Chamber orchestra
Former nameThe Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Founded1959
LocationLondon, England
Music directorJoshua Bell
Websiteasmf.org

John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields", a small, conductorless string group. The ASMF gave its first concert on 13 November 1959, in the church after which it was named. In 1988, the orchestra dropped the hyphens from its full name.

History

The initial performances as a string orchestra at St Martin-in-the-Fields 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.

In 1978, the Chorus of St Martin in the Fields was founded, solely for the purpose of performing Bach's Mass in B minor, which Marriner and the Academy would tour with. After the initial live performances, Marriner recorded the work for Philips Records with soloists Margaret Marshall, Janet Baker, Robert Tear and Samuel Ramey. Since then, the Chorus of St Martin in the Fields has become an independent group and has recorded multiple times with Marriner and the Academy (although sometimes being substituted by the Ambrosian Singers).

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 orchestra from the leader's desk. Marriner held the title of Life President until his death in 2016. On recordings, besides Marriner, Iona Brown and Kenneth Sillito have led the orchestra, among others.

In 1993, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields became the first – and to date, only – orchestra to be awarded The Queen's Award for Export Achievement.[1]

Since 2000, Murray Perahia has held the title of Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra, and has made commercial recordings with the orchestra as pianist and conductor.[2]

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields during the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, 2011

In May 2011, the orchestra appointed Joshua Bell as its new Music Director, the second person to hold the title in the orchestra's history, effective September 2011, with an initial contract of 3 years.[3][4] In July 2017, the ASMF extended Bell's contract through 2020, an additional three years from his previous contract extension.[5]

Sally Beamish has the title of composer-in-residence with the ASMF, the first composer so affiliated with the ASMF, scheduled through the 2019–2020 season.[6]

Recordings

The orchestra's first recording was for the L'Oiseau-Lyre label at Conway Hall on 25 March 1961. It has since accumulated an extensive discography, and is one of the most recorded chamber orchestras in the world, with over 500 sessions. Other labels the orchestra has recorded for include Argo, Capriccio, Chandos, Decca, EMI, Hänssler, Hyperion, and Philips.[7] Earlier recordings by the ASMF from the old Philips label have been reissued on Pentatone. The orchestra has also recorded under the names "Argo Chamber Orchestra", "London String Players", and "London Strings".

The soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus, a fictional account of the life of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his bitter feud with rival Antonio Salieri features many of Mozart's most popular compositions. Recorded by the Academy and Sir Neville Marriner in 1984, the soundtrack to Amadeus reached #1 in the Billboard Classical Albums Chart, #56 in the Billboard Popular Albums Chart, has sold over 6.5 million copies to date and received 13 Gold Discs, making it one of the most popular classical music recordings of all time.[8] The partnership between the Academy and its founder Sir Neville Marriner is the most recorded of any orchestra and conductor.[9]

Chamber Ensemble

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble was created in 1967 to perform the larger chamber works with players who customarily worked together, instead of the usual string quartet with additional guests. Drawn from the principal players of the Academy and led by violinist Tomo Keller, the Chamber Ensemble performs in all shapes and sizes, from string quintets to octets, and in various other configurations featuring winds. Its touring commitments are extensive and include regular tours of Europe and North America, whilst recording contracts with Philips Classics, Hyperion, and Chandos have led to the release of over thirty CDs.[10]

References
  1. "THE QUEEN'S AWARDS FOR EXPORT, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT 1993". The London Gazette. 20 April 1993.
  2. Andrew Clements (31 October 2003). "Bach, Italian Concerto; Brandenburg Concerto No 5; Concerto for Flute, Violin and Piano: Perahia/Academy of St Martin in the Fields". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  3. "New Music Director" (Press release). Academy of St Martin in the Fields. 27 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  4. Michael Roddy (27 May 2011). "U.S. violinist Bell takes over London orchestra". Reuters. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  5. "Academy of St Martin in the Fields Music Director Joshua Bell renews contract for a further three years" (PDF) (Press release). Academy of St Martin in the Fields. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  6. "Sally Beamish". Academy of St Martin in the Fields. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  7. Tim Ashley (11 November 2005). "Weill/ Vasks: Violin Concertos, Marwood/ Academy of St Martin in the Fields". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  8. "Amadeus soundtrack - Academy of St Martin in the Fields". Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  9. Siddique, Haroon (2 October 2016). "Conductor Sir Neville Marriner dies aged 92". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  10. "The Chamber Ensemble - Academy of St Martin in the Fields". Academy of St Martin in the Fields. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2018.

Sources
  • Stuart, Philip. Marriner and the Academy – A Record Partnership. London: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, 1999.
  • Harries, Meirion and Susie. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, London, 1981.

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