Biography
We have seen one of today’s most distinguished conductors, Sir Simon Rattle, regularly at the Rudolfinum in recent years. Maestro Rattle has been honoured with a knighthood conferred by the Queen of England and the Order of Merit from the City of Berlin. The climax of his long-term collaboration with the Czech Philharmonic, including a residence for the 2022/2023 season together with his wife, mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, arrived in 2024/2025 with his appointment as principal guest conductor with the words “Rafael Kubelík Chair” added to the title. Simon Rattle has ties to the former chief conductor of the Czech Republic not only because of his post as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, but also because of Kubelík’s recordings with the Czech Philharmonic, which Rattle fell in love with as a boy.
A native of Liverpool and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, Sir Simon Rattle has held a series of important positions in the course of his long career. He came to worldwide attention as the chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was employed for a full 18 years (for eight years as its music director); next came 16 years with the Berlin Philharmonic (2002–2018; artistic director and chief conductor) and six years with the London Symphony Orchestra. He opened the 2023/2024 season as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Besides holding full-time conducting posts, he maintains ties with the world’s leading orchestras and gives concerts frequently in Europe, the USA, and Asia. He also appears occasionally at major opera houses.
He has made more than 70 recordings for EMI (now Warner Classics). He has won a number of prestigious international awards for his recordings including three Grammy Awards for Mahler’s Symphony No. 10, Brahms’s German Requiem, and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, which he recorded with the Berlin Philharmonic. In May 2025, Sir Simon Rattle was awarded Germany’s prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.
Besides the prizes mentioned above, Rattle’s long-term partnership with the Berlin Philharmonic also led to the new educational programme Zukunft@Bphil, which has achieved lasting success. Even after moving on from that orchestra, Rattle did not abandon his engagement with music education, and he has taken part together with the London Symphony Orchestra in the creation of the LSO East London Academy. Since 2019, that organisation has been seeking out talented young musicians, developing their potential free of charge regardless of their origins and financial situation.
