Oxford, Oxfordshire, England| Sir Roger Norrington | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roger Arthur Carver Norrington |
| Born | March 16, 1934 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Genre(s) | Classical |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor |
| Years active | 1962-present |
Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington, CBE (born March 16, 1934) is a British conductor. He is the son of Sir Arthur Norrington and the brother of Humphrey Thomas Norrington.
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Norrington studied at the Dragon School, Westminster School, Clare College, Cambridge and the Royal College of Music under Adrian Boult among others.
Norrington worked as a tenor through the 1960s, and in 1962 founded the Schütz Choir (later the Schütz Choir of London). From 1969 to 1984, he was music director of Kent Opera. In 1978 he founded the London Classical Players (led by baroque violinist John Holloway) and remained their musical director until 1997. From 1985-1989 he was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. From 1990 to 1994, he was music director of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. In 1998, he became principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. He became Artistic Advisor of the Handel and Haydn Society in 2006.
Norrington is best known for performances of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music using period instruments and period style. He is a member of the historically informed performance movement. Norrington has advocated a limited use of vibrato in orchestral performances[1], which has brought him both acclaim and criticism[2]. He has followed Ludwig van Beethoven's metronome markings in his symphonies[2], some of which are thought by most conductors to be too quick to be practicable throughout the whole length of movements. He has conducted recordings of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Berlioz, and Brahms on period instruments.[3].
With his wife, the choreographer Kay Lawrence, he formed in 1984 the Early Opera Project to complement his concert work in period-style performance, beginning with Monteverdi’s Orfeo at the Maggio Musicale in Florence that year, and touring Britain in 1986
In August 2008 Norrington appeared in the reality TV talent show-themed television series, Maestro on BBC Two, when he led the judging panel.[4] He conducted the Last Night of The Proms for the first time on 13 September 2008.
Norrington was made an OBE in 1980, a CBE in 1990 and a Knight Bachelor in 1997.
| Preceded by no predecessor |
Music Director, Orchestra of St. Luke's 1990–1994 |
Succeeded by Sir Charles Mackerras |
| Preceded by Gianluigi Gelmetti |
Principal Conductor, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra 1998– |
Succeeded by incumbent |