Innovator, erudite, entertaining and acclaimed conductor Sir Roger Norrington founded the Schutz Choir, became founding music director of Kent Opera and established the London Classical Players, the period-instrument orchestra. His recordings of historically informed Beethoven's complete symphonies with the later that opened his collaboration with EMI received unanimous critical acclaim. The success led to a busy and productive recording programme that covered music from Purcell and Handel to Wagner, Brahms and Bruckner, encompassing orchestral works, choral works and opera. A rich and varied collection of recordings released under EMI, Virgin and Warner Classics that illustrates the Guardian's observation: "arguably the most important British conductor of the last half century... a man who has emphatically changed classical music for the better."
