‘There was a time when the scholarly world was virtually cut off from practical music-making. Yet for me the two are essential partners. Now everything is finally coming together – most vitally regarding tempo. I remember when I first encountered Beethoven’s original metronome marks, and realised that many mainstream conductors were taking some of his music literally at half speed. Discovering how these hallowed masterpieces could or even should sound was a revelatory and thrilling process.
‘With the second movement of Symphony No. 2, there seemed to be a general assumption that bars had to be subdivided into regular slow beats, even 3/8, which should, of course, be conducted one-in-a-bar, and 6/8 as two – never in six! We have it on record as early as Leopold Mozart explaining how it should actually be done! I apply the same rule to the opening of Brahms’s First Symphony, and even the Tristan Prelude, albeit at a slower tempo – yet it should definitely still be felt in two.’
Roger Norrington shares his memories of a long and influential career in BBC Music Magazine's September 2022 issue.
Photo: James Cheadle
