The beloved British violinist and conductor who brought refreshing clarity to Baroque and Classical music performed on modern instruments in Post-WWII England has died at the age of 92. His 90th birthday celebrations made him the oldest person ever to conduct a Proms concert - icing on the cake for a musician who achieved so much in more than 50 years' involvement with the ensemble he founded, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

Despite remaining faithful to modern instruments throughout his long career, the founder of the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields was a leading light and an inspiration in the early music revival with his incisive readings of Baroque and Classical music.

Marriner studied conducting with Pierre Monteux in Maine in the United States, and drew the best out of his strings having started his career as a violinist in the London Symphony Orchestra under Henry Wood during WWII. His ensemble The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is named for the London church where the group gave their first public concert.

A towering figure of the last half-century, Sir Neville Marriner leaves a rich and prolific legacy entirely unique in the history of recorded music - it is estimated that his partnership with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields has yielded more than 500 recordings - more than any other orchestra in the world, among them the original soundtrack to the film Amadeus, Mozart arias with Barbara Hendricks and more.