Neville Marriner - The Argo Years

Neville Sir Marriner

Gramophone Award Winner 2014 - Outstanding Achievement
Sir Neville Marriner celebrates his 90th birthday on 15th April 2014. Decca is taking this opportunity to honour his achievement on record with a treasure trove of Argo jewels from Marriner’s early recording days with the chamber orchestra he founded in 1958, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields. The UK focal point of the birthday celebrations will be a concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 1st April 2014, where Sir Neville will be joined by Murray Perahia and current Musical Director of ASMF, Joshua Bell. There are also celebration concerts planned in Germany on 1st-3rd June 2014 and the orchestra has already been on tour across Europe in January. The 28 CD box spans the years 1964-1981, and includes a bonus CD of the first recordings from 1961.The collection concentrates on the Argo years, when the pattern for the Academy’s success was set. Winning performances by soloists such as Alan Loveday and Iona Brown — who in 1974 became Marriner’s successor in directing from the violin – were a key part of the fabric of the Academy’s unique sound. Highlights in this box include the legendary recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and full performances of Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem.

Price: $133.98