Sir Simon Rattle
Born in Liverpool in 1955, Sir Simon Rattle has been
Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Artistic
Director of the Berliner Philharmonie since September
2002. At the age of twenty-five, following his studies at
London’s Royal Academy of Music, he entered into close
association with the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra (CBSO), initially as Principal Conductor and
Artistic Adviser, then – up until the 1998 season – as their
Musical Director. His tireless work, the visionary artistic
projects as well as the many recordings both for television
and on disc have rendered the CBSO one of the world’s
top-ranking orchestras.
It goes without saying that, as a concert and opera conductor,
Simon Rattle’s multifaceted repertoire covers compositions
ranging from the Baroque era to those of New Music.
Rattle is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra of
the Age of Enlightenment, works with the leading orchestras
on both sides of the Atlantic, and, together with the Vienna
Philharmonic, for example, has worked out, amongst others,
a complete Beethoven cycle. Even before taking up his post
as Chief Conductor, Simon Rattle had already collaborated
with the Berliner Philharmoniker for fifteen years, making
his début on November 14, 1987 with Mahler’s Sixth
and appearing regularly on the conductor’s rostrum in
the years that followed. Among the recordings made during
this period, releases to date include Liszt’s Faust-Symphonie,
Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder and Deryck Cooke’s revised
version of Mahler’s Tenth, the last-mentioned winning
various prizes as well as a coveted Grammy.
In his most recent recordings with the Berliner
Philharmoniker Simon Rattle has dedicated himself to
Mahler’s Fifth, which was recorded live at his inaugural
concerts as the orchestra’s Chief Conductor, to Beethoven’s
Fidelio, also recorded live at the Philharmonie in
April 2003, as well as to Messiaens Éclairs sur l’Au delà,
a live recording from June 2004.
|
