Simon Rattle

Simon Rattle, born on January 19, 1955 in Liverpool, England, is a British conductor.

In 1970, he held his first symphony concert in cooperation with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1971, he entered the Royal College of Music in London to study conducting. In 1974, he won the championship in the John Player International Conducting Competition held in Bournemouth, England, laying the foundation for his career as a professional conductor. In 1979, his career took a turn when he was appointed as the permanent conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In 1981, he was hired as the chief guest conductor by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1987, he recorded Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in cooperation with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time in the same year. In 1993, he was awarded the title of Artist of the Year by the British government and Gramophone magazine. In 1994, he was knighted by the Queen of England. In 1997, he was awarded the “Best Musician Achievement Award” by BBC Music Magazine. In 1999, his complete set of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos in cooperation with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra won the Grand Prix du Disque in France. In 2000, UNESCO selected him as a “Artist for Peace”.

In 2002, he officially became the chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2003, he was elected as the “Best Conductor of the Year” by the German Echo Klassik Awards. In 2009, he began to promote the “Digital Concert Hall” of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra; in the same year, he won the Grammy Award for “Best Choral Performance”. In 2012, he was listed on the “Hall of Fame” of Gramophone magazine. In 2017, he took on the role of Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra.