Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington (16 March 1934 – 18 July 2025) was an English conductor. He was most famous for performing music from the baroque, classical, and romantic periods using methods that followed historical practices. His performances often used vibrato very little and applied historical techniques to modern orchestras.

He led the music at the Kent Opera, the London Classical Players, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and Orchestra of St. Luke's. In the 1990s, he became the principal conductor of the Camerata Salzburg and Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. At these positions, he helped create the "Stuttgart Sound." He also conducted for many major orchestras and advised musical organizations.

Life and career

Norrington was born in Oxford on March 16, 1934. His parents were Edith Joyce (who was born Carver) and Arthur Norrington, who later became president of Trinity College, Oxford. His younger brother was Humphrey Thomas Norrington. During World War II, the family moved to Canada. When he returned at age 10, he took violin lessons and acted in school plays at Dragon School and Westminster School. Later, he served in the army in Bournemouth as an RAF fighter controller.

Norrington studied history and literature at Clare College, Cambridge from 1954 to 1957, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts. He sang in the Clare College Choir and studied music at the same time, learning violin with Beryl Ireland and voice with Roy Henderson. After college, he worked for Oxford University Press, publishing religious books. He also played violin in an orchestra and small music groups, and sang tenor in choirs. He gained experience in opera by performing and conducting with the Chelsea Opera Group.

In the early 1960s, Norrington discovered the music of Heinrich Schütz. In 1962, he founded the Schütz Choir (later called the Schütz Choir of London), aiming to perform as much of Schütz’s music as possible. Keith Falkner, principal of the Royal College of Music, attended one of their concerts and encouraged Norrington to study conducting. Norrington left his job at Oxford University Press and studied conducting with Sir Adrian Boult and others from 1962 to 1964. The Schütz Choir’s first concert with an orchestra using period instruments was Handel’s Messiah in 1972, followed by Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine.

From 1969 to 1984, Norrington was the music director of Kent Opera, where he conducted over 400 performances of more than 40 productions. In 1978, he founded the London Classical Players. Their recording of Beethoven’s Symphonies, made from 1987 to 1990, caused a sensation by using period instruments, placing the second violins opposite the first, and following Beethoven’s metronome markings for speed. The group continued exploring other music. Norrington remained their musical director until 1997. From 1985 to 1989, he was the principal conductor of the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He also served as 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.

In 1984, Norrington and his wife, the choreographer Kay Lawrence, formed the Early Opera Project to support his work in period-style opera. They began with Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino that year and toured Britain in 1986.

In Europe, Norrington was the principal conductor of Camerata Salzburg from 1997 to 2007 and the principal conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1998 to 2011. On July 28, 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 planned merger with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg.

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 performed regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and major orchestras worldwide.

Norrington became well known for performances that followed historical practices, not only for Baroque music but also for Classical and Romantic music. He supported limited or no use of vibrato in orchestral music, arguing that orchestras did not use it until the 1930s. This approach caused some controversy. He strictly followed Beethoven’s original metronome markings for speed in his symphonies, rejecting the idea that these markings were incorrect. With little vibrato, fast tempos, and unique instrument placement, especially placing first and second violins on opposite sides of the podium, he created a distinct sound, especially with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. This sound, called the “Stuttgart Sound,” combined historical practices with a modern orchestra. Symphonic cycles he conducted with the orchestra received worldwide praise. Critics, including Hermann Voss, the violist of the Melos Quartet, made drawings in 2005 showing Norrington’s vibrato-free string sound and described it as receiving “contempt and scorn” in some circles.

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

Norrington was married twice. He married Susan McLean May in 1964, with whom he had two children. The couple divorced in 1982. In 1986, he married Kay Lawrence, a dancer and choreographer; the couple had one child.

In November 2021, Norrington announced his retirement.

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

Awards and honours

Norrington was given an OBE in 1980, a CBE in 1990, and the title of Knight Bachelor in 1997. He received the Cavaliere of the Italian Republic in 1980 and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2012.

• 1991 University of York
• 1995 University of Kent
• 2016 Royal College of Music and 1997 Prince Consort Professor of Historical Performance

Recordings

Norrington recorded works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Bruckner, and Mahler using both period and modern instruments.

Recordings with Decca Records include:

• Heroes, 1999, with Andreas Scholl and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OCLC 1454977512)
• Bach: Cantatas Nos. 82, 158 & 56, 1999, with Matthias Goerne and Camerata Salzburg (OCLC 44119025)
• The Rossini Bicentennial Birthday Gala, 1994 (OCLC 659123457)

Recordings with Erato Records include:

Recordings with Sony Classical Records include:

• Beethoven and Mendelssohn Violin Concertos, 2002, with Joshua Bell (violin) and Camerata Salzburg (OCLC 314084714)

Recordings with SWR Classic, with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, include:

• Beethoven: Overtures, 2022 (OCLC 1373413474)
• Beethoven: Complete Symphonies (Live), 2020, with Gächinger Kantorei (OCLC 1255958866)
• Beethoven: Missa Solemnis In D Major, Op. 123, 2007, with NDR Chor and SWR Vokalensemble (OCLC 840104675)
• Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1–8 (Fragments), 2003 (OCLC 1444814926)