Berliner Philharmoniker / Sir Simon Rattle

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Berliner Philharmoniker / Sir Simon Rattle 7 March 2007 / 19:30 Hall
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Profile Thomas Adès Thomas Adès' meteoric rise to international musical prominence in a period of under ten years, has been an astonishing phenomenon. He was twenty-two in 1993 when he gave his first public piano recital in London (for the Park Lane Group series); an occasion which not only mesmerized a packed Purcell Room, but set in motion a chain of events that has catapulted him to a position at the heart of the British musical scene, and of early international recognition. Although critics have differed in comparing him to Beethoven, Mozart, Purcell or Britten, there is an unusual consensus among them of his originality, musicality and importance. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berliner Philharmoniker has been a feature of Berlin’s musical life since its creation in 1882. Its first regular conductor was Hans von Bülow; guest conductors from this time included Hermann Levi, Hans Richter, Felix Mottl, Felix von Weingartner, Hans Pfitzner, Brahms, Grieg, Mahler and Strauss. Arthur Nikisch followed von Bülow in 1895, advocating the music of Bruckner, Berlioz, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and ‘modern’ works by Strauss and Mahler. Nikisch was succeeded in 1922 by Wilhelm Furtwängler, who led the orchestra through the Nazi period, and in 1946 rejoined them in a Berlin that had been reduced to rubble. Sergiu Celibidache became the orchestra’s first post-war permanent conductor. Furtwängler became Principal Conductor again in 1952; after his death two years later the orchestra voted to accept Herbert von Karajan as Permanent Conductor and Artistic Director. Karajan terminated his partnership with the orchestra shortly before his death in 1989, and Claudio Abbado became the fifth Artistic Director from the 1990–91 season; Sir Simon Rattle succeeded him and became the orchestra’s first British Chief Conductor and Artistic Director from the 2002–3 season. The orchestra’s change of status to a charitable foundation (the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker) has created new opportunities and ensured its economic future. The foundation is supported by its principal sponsor, Deutsche Bank. Central to this support is the orchestra’s education programme Zukunft@BPhil, which was set up at the time of Rattle’s appointment to ensure that the orchestra reaches a broader and younger audience. Sir Simon Rattle Simon Rattle has received many international awards in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music and his involvement in educational and community activities. In the 1987 New Year Honours, he was awarded the C.B.E. for his services to Music and in June 1994, he was made a Knight Bachelor in the Birthday Honours List. In September 1997 he was awarded the first ever BBC Music Magazine Outstanding Achievement Award and in November 1997 he was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Albert Medal. He received the Outstanding Achievement award at the 1999 South Bank Show Awards in honour of his eighteen years work with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In September 2001 he was awarded the Austrian “Cross of Honour for Science and the Arts” (first class). He became Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker in September 2002 and is also Music Director of the Osterfestspiele Salzburg, where in 2006 he led a new production of Debussy's 'Pelléas et Mélisande'. In November 2005 Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker completed their first tour together to the Far East, with concerts in Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. His complete Ring for Aix-en-Provence Festival began in 2006 and the cycle will also be presented in the Salzburg Osterfestspiele starting in 2007. An exclusive EMI artist many years, Simon Rattle has made over seventy recordings, and received numerous prestigious international awards.