Roger Norrington is among both the most controversial and the most durably successful conductors of the historical performance movement, having influenced the scene in his native Britain since the early 1960s. Over a distinguished career, he has extended historical performance principles forward to the music of Mahler and even beyond, forging unconventional interpretations that often use fast tempos and strictly avoid vibrato.
Norrington was born on March 16, 1934, in Oxford. His father, Sir Arthur Norrington, was a famous professor and publisher. Norrington studied conductin...