Geoffrey Norris

Geoffrey Norris (Russian: Джеффри Норрис; born 19 September 1947) is an English musicologist and music critic. His scholarship focuses on Russian composers; in particular, Norris is a leading scholar on the life and music of Sergei Rachmaninoff, about whom he has written in numerous articles and a 1976 book-length study. He was chief classical music critic of The Daily Telegraph from 1995 to 2009.

Geoffrey Norris
Born	(1947-09-19) September 19, 1947 (age 77) London, England, UK
Alma mater	University of Durham Russian State Institute of Performing Arts
Occupations	Musicologist music critic
Notable credit	The Daily Telegraph

Life and career

Geoffrey Norris was born in London, England in 19 September 1947.^[1][2] An enthusiast for Russian culture since his youth, Norris attended the University of Durham where his undergraduate dissertation was on The Five, a leading group of 19th-century Russian composers.^[3] He continued his studies of Russian music at the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts.^[3] From 1995 to 2009, he was chief classical music critic of The Daily Telegraph.^[1] Norris has been a lecturer at the Royal Northern College of Music, Goldsmiths University of London and elsewhere, as well as a jury member for piano competitions.^[3] Norris is Emeritus Professor of the Rachmaninoff Music Academy, Tambov, and from 2013 until 2022 lectured at the Gnesin Music Academy, Moscow.^[4]

Norris' scholarship focuses on Russian composers, and in particular, Sergei Rachmaninoff.^[3] He has written numerous articles,^[5][6][7][8] and a book-length study on Rachmaninoff,^[9] whose works he catalogued in a 1982 publication with Robert Threlfall.^[10] He has also compiled and edited an anthology of interviews that Rachmaninoff gave to the press, Sergei Rachmaninoff In His Own Words (2024).

Selected writings

Books

• Norris, Geoffrey (1976). Rakhmaninov. The Master Musicians Series. London: J.M. Dent. ISBN 978-0-460-03145-5.
• ——; Threlfall, Robert (1982). A Catalogue of the Compositions of S. Rachmaninoff. London: Scolar Press. ISBN 978-0-85967-617-5.
• —— (2024). Sergei Rachmaninoff In His Own Words. Frankfurt: Wolke Verlag. ISBN 978-3-95593-272-5.

Articles

For other articles by Geoffrey Norris, see § External links.

• Norris, Geoffrey (1973). "Rachmaninoff's Second Thoughts". The Musical Times. 114 (1562): 364–368. doi:10.2307/955179. JSTOR 955179.
• —— (July 1973). "Rakhmaninov's Student Opera". The Musical Quarterly. 59 (3): 441–448. doi:10.1093/mq/LIX.3.441. JSTOR 41788.
• —— (October 1983). "Rakhmaninov's Apprenticeship". The Musical Times. 124 (1688): 602–603+605. doi:10.2307/961696. JSTOR 961696.
• —— (2001). "Rachmaninoff [Rakhmaninov, Rachmaninov], Serge". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.50146. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required)
• Норрис, Джеффри (2016). "Фортепианные сонаты С. Рахманинова: дилеммы исполнителя". Рахманинов и XXI век: прошлое и настоящее (Moscow, 2016): 16-19.