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Sir Simon Rattle: Performs complete Brahms Symphonies

  Tobias

Sir Simon Rattle, who gained fame internationally as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, has been the principal conductor for the Berliner Philharmoniker for 7 years. Born in Liverpool, he attended the Royal Academy of Music in London and graduated from Oxford.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to present Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker in this major new recording," said Stephen Johns with EMI Classics. "With the combination of Sir Simon's vision and iconoclastic approach, and the orchestra's remarkable technique and unique sound, these new performances should prove a new milestone in the history of recordings of these works."

Sir Simon Rattle's first concert as principal conductor with the Orchestra was in the fall of 2002, when he led performances of Thomas Adès' Asyla and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5. The concert, which was recorded for both CD and DVD and then released by EMI, was praised internationally. Ein deutsches Requiem, Sir Simon Rattle's first Brahms recording with the Berliner Philharmoniker, won both Classic FM/ Gramophone and Grammy awards.

According to Sir Simon, Brahms is a perfect match with the Berliner Philharmoniker’s style, as the Orchestra played all of the Brahms Symphonies in the first three years after it was organized. Sir Simon describes the horns from a distance and the essence of forests as the German ethos -- the sound of Brahms, and he affirms the Berliner Philharmoniker as the world's finest for performing the works of Brahms. "I can say to this orchestra, ‘I need a different sound’ and the sound changes immediately," he said.

The new collection features a distinct and wilful approach to the Brahms Symphonies, highlighting innovative performances by individual musicians. The lead horn player Stefan Dohr, for example, introduces a stingendo at the conclusion of a major horn solo. This is but one illustration of the success of Sir  Simon's efforts to encourage more versatility from the Orchestra and to reach out to new and younger audiences.

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