Conductor Sir Roger Norrington, who made controversial vibrato-free recordings, dies aged 91

19 July 2025, 09:38 | Updated: 19 July 2025, 10:44

By Classic FM

@ClassicFM

Sir Roger has been described in tributes as “a joyful companion” and “a warm, friendly man”. He is remembered as a music director much-loved by both musicians and audiences.

British conductor Sir Roger Norrington has died aged 91.

An innovative and sometimes controversial music maker, Sir Roger was known for using period instruments and scores in his orchestras, and for his absolute pursuit of musical authenticity – pushing for composers’ original metronome markings and against what he described as the “modern drug” of vibrato, and experimenting with orchestra formations.

Composer Thomas Hewitt-Jones recalls: “His Symphonie Fantastique with the NYO – he put us cellos in the middle of the orchestra – was a life-changing musical experience I have never forgotten.”

Norrington worked extensively with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In tribute to the conductor, the OAE released a statement saying, on his interpretation of Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony: “Sir Roger changed completely what we thought we knew about his music.”

The symphonic cycles which Norrington interpreted with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra received worldwide acclaim. His recordings on period and modern instruments became known as the Stuttgart Sound, which married historically informed music making with the means of a modern and flexible orchestra.

Norrington was born in Oxford, into a musical and academic family. From childhood, he studied the violin and was a talented boy soprano. Winning a choral scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge, he read English Literature but more significantly, studied conducting with Sir Adrian Boult at the Royal College of Music.

After graduating, Norrington went into publishing, but continued to conduct. In 1962, he formed the Schütz Choir, and together they recorded many pieces dating from the 17th and 19th centuries.

In 1969, Norrington became chief conductor of Kent Opera, developing a repertoire of more than 40 works. It was this versatility that probably led to his never being taken seriously as a musical specialist of any one composer. He made his debut conducting at English National Opera with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro in 1973.

In 1978, he founded the London Classical Players, remaining their music director until 1999. During this time, in 1984, he established the Early Opera Project with his wife – the choreographer Kay Lawrence – to complement his concert work with period-style opera. This led to his performance of Handel’s Samson at the Royal Opera in 1986.

Orchestra surprises Roger Norrington with a 'Happy Birthday'/Beethoven mash-up

But Sir Roger’s fascination with authenticity was not limited to Baroque and Classical music. His research into original scores and into the size, seating and playing style of the orchestras of the 19th and early 20th centuries influenced the way music of this period is both perceived and performed.

He also sought to reduce the amount of vibrato used by string players. “It’s one of my missions to make this way of playing freely available to any intelligent musician,” he said.

Norrington appeared with many major European and US orchestras, suggesting different ways of performing the traditional symphonic repertoire. He was Principal Guest Conductor with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1990s and was the Principal Conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

Norrington conducted more than 50 world premieres, appearing regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic and other major orchestras, worldwide. He conducted opera in Italy at La Scala, Milan; La Fenice, Venice; and at the Maggio Musicale, Florence; as well as in Vienna, Paris and Amsterdam.

In 2008 Sir Roger acted as a judge on British reality TV series Maestro, helping celebrities including Sue Perkins become conductors.

He announced his retirement in 2021, delivering his final concert that year at Sage Gateshead with the Royal Northern Sinfonia playing music by Haydn. Sitting down allowed the conductor to swivel round and interact with the audience, encouraging them to applaud at the end of movements and to laugh along with Haydn’s wit.

At the end of the performance he left the stage with the other musicians, always conscious of the team-like nature of the orchestra. As was written in The Guardian at the time, “It reminded us that this is a man who has changed classical music, emphatically for the better.”

He was awarded an OBE in 1980, a CBE in 1990 and was knighted in 1997.

Sir Roger’s death was announced on Friday 18 July. He is survived by his children Tom, Ben and Amy.