Roger Norrington Roger Norrington

Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington CBE(born 16 March 1934) is a British conductor. He is the son of Sir Arthur Norringtonand his brother is Humphrey Thomas Norrington.

Norrington studied at The Royal Conservatory of Musicin Toronto, Dragon School, Oxford, Westminster School, Clare College, Cambridgeand the Royal College of Musicunder Adrian Boultamong others. Norrington played the violin, and worked as a tenorthrough the 1960s, and in 1962 founded the Schütz Choir (later the Schütz Choir of London).

From 1969 to 1984, Norrington was music director of Kent Opera. In 1978, he founded the London Classical Playersand remained their musical director until 1997. From 1985 to 1989, he was principal conductor of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He is also president of the Oxford Bach Choir. In the US, from 1990 to 1994, he was music director of the Orchestra of St. Luke's. In Europe, he was principal conductor of the Camerata Salzburgfrom 1997 to 2006, and principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestrafrom 1998 to 2011.He was artistic advisor of the Boston Handel and Haydn Societyfrom 2006 to 2009. He was principal guest conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. He was principal conductor of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra from 2011 to 2016.

Norrington is best known for historically informed performances of Baroque, Classicaland Romantic music. He is a member of the historically informed performancemovement. Norrington has advocated a limited or no use of vibratoin orchestral performances,which has brought him both acclaim and criticism.He has strictly followed Beethoven'soriginal metronome markings in his symphonies, despite critical comment that these markings were "miscalculated".He has conducted recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Bruckner, and Mahleron period and modern instruments.He has conducted over 50 world premieres, and has appeared regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and major orchestras throughout the world.

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 Claudio Monteverdi's L'Orfeoat the Maggio Musicale Fiorentinothat year, and touring Britain in 1986.

In August 2008, Norrington appeared in the reality TV talent show-themed television series, Maestroon BBC Two, when he led the judging panel.He conducted the First Night of the Proms in 2006 and the Last Night of The Promson 13 September 2008.On 28 July 2016, he conducted the final concert of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestrain London at the Royal Albert Hallas part of The Proms, before its scheduled merger with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg.

Norrington has been married twice. He and his second wife, Kay Lawrence, have a son, Tom.He was appointed OBEin 1980, CBEin 1990 and Knight Bachelorin 1997. He is a patron of Bampton Classical Operaand the Orchestra of St Paul's. He is an honorary fellow of Clare College Cambridge and holds honorary degrees from the Universities of York and Kent and an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Music.