| Biography | Sir Simon Denis Rattle OM CBE is a British conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980-1998). Rattle was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic from 2002 to 2018.
As a student at the Royal Academy of Music, he organised and conducted a performance of Mahler's Second Symphony. Here, he was talent-spotted by music agent Martin Campbell-White of Harold Holt Ltd.
In 1974, he was made assistant conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. His first Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, conducting the London Sinfonietta, was, according to the BBC Proms Archive web-site, on 9 August 1976. The programme included Harrison Birtwistle's Meridian and Arnold Schoenberg's First Chamber Symphony. In 1977 he became assistant conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
As a passionate supporter of music education, Rattle is the patron of Birmingham Schools' Symphony Orchestra, arranged during his tenure with CBSO in mid 1990s. |