Ballot Archive

12 Nov 2015

Candidate Details

Candidate Name

David Owen Norris

Academic degrees, honours etc.

MA (Oxon); FRAM, FRCO; Honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford; Gilmore Artist 1991; Gresham Professor of Music 1993-7.

Profession or occupation

Professor of Musical Performance,University of Southampton; Visiting Professor, Royal College of Music,Royal Northern C

Grounds for election

Norris is an historian of the piano and a muscologist, as well as an accomplished performer and composer. He is a noted expert on early pianos, fortepianos and square pianos. In recordings, lectures and publications, he has explored the mechanisms and the repertoire for these instruments, and for Broadwood grand pianos. In 2010 Norris proved Mendelssohn’s reliance on the divided sustaining mechanism found almost exclusively on Broadwood grand pianos, demonstrating in performance the results obtained by Mendelssohn. He broadcasts extensively on radio and television (e.g. Building a Library; Playlist; Chord of the Week). Norris’s premiere recordings include Piano Concertos by Elgar, Phillips, Hely-Hutchinson, Lambert, Arnell & Horowitz. He was involved in the premiere recording of Elgar's Third Symphony. His thematic programmes reflect the fruits of his research and his knowledge of contemporary performance practice. He is involved in the Society's Agincourt conference this autumn.

Signatories

The following Fellows have signed this Blue Paper