Centenary Birthday Tribute To Sir Neville Marriner, Legendary Conductor And Violinist
Neville Marriner was born in Lincoln on 15th April 1924. There was always music in the house, since his father Herbert, a carpenter by trade, was a keen amateur pianist and conductor, while his mother Ethel had a fine singing voice. Beginning to study the violin aged six, Neville entered Lincoln School on a scholarship aged ten. Evidence of the schoolboy’s reluctance to kow-tow to authority can still be viewed in the archives of what is now Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School; he was reprimanded for being cheeky to a prefect on several occasions. Young Neville’s early achievements as a musician often occurred away from school; winning the top prize at Lincoln Musical Festival aged 12 was one highlight.
Blue plaque on Marriner’s childhood home in St Andrew’s Drive, Lincoln
A festival judge with contacts at the Royal College of Music drew this talented boy to the attention of the College’s director, Sir Hugh Allen; Neville was still only 16 when he gained a Morley Scholarship to the RCM and went to London in September 1940. His scholarship was renewed for a second and third year, but he could not then avoid being called up to serve his country in the army.
