Simon Rattle is back in LA. with the Berlin Philharmonic

Angelenos remember Simon Rattle when. We know enough not to trust Wikipedia, which states that the Liverpool-born conductor made his U.S. debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1979. In fact, he appeared at the Hollywood Bowl three years earlier, as a 21-year-old with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. He was still startlingly young when he began his 13-year stint as principal guest of the L.A. Philharmonic in 1981.

Now he is Sir Simon, music director of the mighty Berlin Philharmonic. It hasn’t been all Sunny Sir Simon, as the German capital dubbed him when he took over in 2002. But the orchestra, which appears with Rattle at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Monday and Tuesday nights, is now thriving, breaking new ground with its digital concert hall, outreach programs to schools and prisons, new music projects and a general attitude of waking classical music up to smell the coffee while honoring its incomparable tradition.

And, based on a brief conversation I had with Rattle for an Arts and Books article as he prepared for his U.S. tour, he is as hopeful, thoughtful and funny as ever. Having recently had his contract in Berlin extended until 2018, he has a mandate to continue the change he has brought to what is often considered the world’s most desirable orchestral job.

Click here for the full story.

-- Mark Swed 

Photo: Rattle in Berlin last April. Credit: John MacDougal/Getty Images

Comments

[CK Dexter Haven]

Mark, did you ask him if/when he plans to ever conduct the LA Phil again?

[Robert Falcone]

I was at the 1976 Hollywood Bowl "London Marathon" concert in which Rattle appeared, leading the London Schools Orchestra in Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusic. Those marathon concerts were a great idea for introducing classical music to new comers, but a terrible idea for music lovers. The heavily populated bowl would resonate with loud conversations and bottles rolling down the aisles, while the hapless musicians onstage were trying to perform. But with the very first note from Rattle and the London students, all that noise stopped. Here was a group of teens and pre-teens, sounding like a professional orchestra, led by a mere lad himself! We all sat up on the edge of our seats and took notice. Even at that young age, Rattle had the ability to immediately connect with the audience. To this day, this is his strongest talent, enabling him to captivate the imaginations of orchestras and audiences everywhere, his penchant for eccentric interpretations notwithstanding.