Roger Norrington

Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington His younger brother was Humphrey Thomas Norrington. he gained opera experience by performing and conducting with the Chelsea Opera Group.

Schütz Choir Norrington discovered the music of Heinrich Schütz in the early 1960s, and founded the Schütz Choir (later the Schütz Choir of London) in 1962, planning to perform as much of the composer's music as possible. Keith Falkner, principal of the Royal College of Music, was in the audience at one of their concerts, and encouraged Norrington to study conducting. Norrington resigned his publishing post and studied conducting with Sir Adrian Boult, among others, from 1962 to 1964. In 1978, he founded the London Classical Players. From 1985 to 1989, he was the principal conductor of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He was also president of the Oxford Bach Choir. From 1990 to 1994, he was music director of the Orchestra of St. Luke's in New York City.

With his wife, the choreographer Kay Lawrence, he formed in 1984 the Early Opera Project to complement his concert work in period-style opera, beginning with Monteverdi's L'Orfeo at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino that year, and touring Britain in 1986.

Salzburg and Stuttgart In Europe, Norrington was the principal conductor of Camerata Salzburg from 1997 to 2007, On 28 July 2016, he conducted the final concert of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in London at the Royal Albert Hall as part of The Proms, before its scheduled merger with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg.

Other activities: Boston, Paris, Bremen, Zurich Norrington was an artistic advisor to the Boston Handel and Haydn Society from 2006 to 2009. He was the principal guest conductor of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and the principal conductor of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra from 2011 to 2016. He appeared regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and major orchestras throughout the world.

Historically informed performance Norrington became best known for historically informed performances of not only Baroque music, but also music from the Classical and Romantic periods. He advocated limited or no use of vibrato in orchestral performances, claiming that orchestras did not use it until the 1930s, which brought him controversial criticism. He followed Beethoven's original metronome markings in his symphonies strictly, rejecting the common speculation that these markings were "miscalculated". This refers to the synthesis of historically informed music making with the means of a flexible modern orchestra. Symphonic cycles that Norrington interpreted with the orchestra have received worldwide acclaim. Critics included Hermann Voss, the violist of the Melos Quartet, who drew two tough caricatures of Norrington's vibrato-free string sound in 2005, adding: "Except for the Stuttgart Feuilleton, the New Stuttgart Style finds only contempt and scorn."

Television In August 2008, Norrington appeared in the reality TV talent show-themed television series Maestro on BBC Two, leading the judging panel. He conducted the First Night of The Proms in 2006 and the Last Night of The Proms in 2008.

Personal life Norrington was married twice. He married Susan McLean May in 1964, with whom he had two children. The couple divorced in 1982.

In November 2021, Norrington announced his retirement.

Norrington, who lived near Exeter in Devon, died at home on 18 July 2025, aged 91.

Awards and honours Norrington was appointed OBE in 1980, CBE in 1990, and Knight Bachelor in 1997. He was awarded the Cavaliere of the Italian Republic in 1980

Honorary doctorates 1991 University of York and 1997 Prince Consort Professor of Historical Performance

Recordings Norrington conducted recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Bruckner, and Mahler on both period and modern instruments.

Decca Recordings with Decca Records include:

Heroes, 1999, with Andreas Scholl and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Bach: Cantatas Nos. 82, 158 & 56, 1999, with Matthias Goerne and Camerata Salzburg

EMI The Rossini Bicentennial Birthday Gala, 1994

Erato Records Recordings with Erato Records include:

The Complete Erato Recordings, 2022, Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1–4, 2022, with London Classical Players (LCP) Brahms: Symphony No. 2, Haydn-Variationen & Tragische Ouvertüre, 2022, LCP Mozart: Don Giovanni (Prague Version), 2022, LCP Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 "Wagner Symphony" (1873 Version), 2022, LCP Wagner: Preludes & Overtures, 2022, LCP Schubert: Symphony No. 9 "The Great" & Rosamunde Overture, 2022, LCP Mozart: Don Giovanni (Vienna Version), 2022 Weber: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2, Konzertstück & Oberon Overture, 2022 LCP Beethoven: Choral Fantasy & Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5, 2022, Schütz Choir, Melvyn Tan (piano), LCP Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 "Choral" & Egmont Overture, 2022, Schütz Choir, LCP Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4, 2018, LPC Brahms, Mozart: Requiem, 2013 Mozart: Requiem, Ave verum corpus, 2013 Schütz Choir, LCP Beethoven Symphonies & Concertos, 2011 Mozart: Requiem, Ave verum corpus, 2011 Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 99–104, 2010, LPC Schubert: Symphonies 4–6, 8, Rosamunde, 2003, LPC Beethoven: Complete Symphonies, 1998

Sony Classical Records Recordings with Sony Classical Records include:

Beethoven: Overtures, 2022, Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (Live), 2020, Gächinger Kantorei Beethoven: Missa Solemnis In D Major, Op. 123, 2007, NDR Chor, SWR Vokalensemble Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1–8 (Fragments), 2003