Convincing charisma, a love for experimentation, commitment to contemporary music, great social and pedagogical engagement and unreserved artistic seriousness — all this make Liverpool native Simon Rattle one of the most fascinating conducting personalities of our time. Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Rattle has been the new chief conductor of the Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Rattle gained international reputation during his time with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980-1998), which he led to world fame. He was the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic from 2002 to 2018 and music director of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2023. As conductor emeritus, the 68-year-old Briton with a German passport will remain associated with the LSO. He also works closely with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, for which he is principal artist. Rattle regularly tours throughout Europe and Asia and maintains long-standing relationships with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Czech Philharmonic.
He is a sought-after guest at major opera houses — the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Berlin and Vienna state operas, New York’s Metropolitan Opera and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, where he most recently appeared with the LSO in a new production of Berg’s Wozzeck.
During his time as principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, Rattle made regular guest appearances at the Salzburg Easter Festival, Baden-Baden and Aix-en-Provence. His up to now 70 recordings have received the highest honors and awards.
Rattle was highly committed to the Berlin Philharmonic’s educational program Zukunft@BPhil, for which he has also received several awards.
In London, he founded the LSO East London Academy in 2019, a collaboration between the LSO and 10 districts in the east of the city to promote exceptional musical talents regardless of their social background.
Recorded with the BRSO, Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Die Walküre and Siegfried, Mahler’s Lied von der Erde and Ninth Symphony, and the musica viva disc with works by Ondřej Adámek have been released on CD. The Ninth Symphony was awarded a Diapason d’Or, a Supersonic Pizzicato and Gramophone Editor’s Choice. A live recording from September 2023 with Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 will be released in March 2024.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
