Maria Prinz pledges a legacy gift
“The ASMF belongs, for me, to the cultural heritage not only of GB, but of the entire world. It needs our support so that Neville’s Legacy can be saved and developed for future generations”.
Pianist Maria Prinz has made a generous bequest to ASMF in her will. She tells us why here:
“Sir Neville Marriner was and is one of the most important people in my life. It sounds trite to say that Neville Marriner was a legend, but there are few musicians to whom this term applies better. He was for me a legend, even when I first met him back in 1998. A legend because even in communist Bulgaria, where I was born and spent my childhood, almost every classical recording played on the radio was with the ASMF, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner. Back then, I never thought that destiny would make it possible for me to meet this great musician in person and to belong, from that moment on until the 2nd of October 2016, to his inner circle.
“Our collaborations on stage belong to the absolute highlights of my professional life. They include concerts in Sofia (Bulgaria), where I was his soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto K.488 and Beethoven’s first Piano Concerto, as well as the Chandos CD recording “The 20th century Concerto Grosso” with the ASMF under Sir Neville’s direction, at St John’s, Smith Square, in 2012.
“I used to send Sir Neville a dozen bottles of his favourite wine Cloudy Bay for Christmas. After we lost him, I was thinking how I could make a Christmas gift to Neville, now that he was no longer with us. The only possibility would be to do something for his life’s work – the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
“Knowing how important it was to him – the ASMF, the orchestra he founded and which was his “musical instrument” throughout his life – I wanted to do whatever I could for this unique ensemble so that it could continue the tradition of his fine understanding of music-making with that unique sound that makes ASMF so special.”