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Sir Simon Rattle

Sir Simon Rattle

Born: 19th January 1955, Liverpool, England

Nationality: English

Since 2002 Simon Rattle has been Principal Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic - regarded by many as the finest symphony orchestra in the world. He is only the sixth person to hold the position in 120 years and is the first Briton to take on the challenge.

Growing up in Liverpool in the 1960s, while other youngsters were listening to The Beatles, he was transfixed by Mahler and was determined to become a conductor. His talent was prodigious. He won an international conducting competition aged just nineteen and so, with plenty of enthusiasm but scant experience, began his career. Initially because of his youth, his approach was collaborative rather than autocratic and it has been a style that brought tremendous results during his eighteen year association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He insists that his approach with the Berlin Philharmonic is about teamwork too - but concedes that it is an orchestra that contains some very strong characters and very big egos.

Further Reading: Sir Simon Rattle

Recording of the Week, Magdalena Kožená performs orchestral songs by Martinů, Dvořák, and Hans Krása

The Czech mezzo presents an enchanting selection of songs in which she demonstrates her impressive range of tone colours, with sumptuous support from the Czech Philharmonic and Simon Rattle.

Recording of the Week, Janáček's Katya Kabanova from Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra

Amanda Majeski is riveting as the doomed heroine grasping for happiness in the face of a loveless marriage (and a monstrous mother-in-law) in provincial Russia, with Rattle expertly balancing the score's elemental power and claustrophobic intensity.

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