The list has just been released by Carnegie Hall:

Some time in the mid-1980s, I noticed that it had been nine months since the London  Symphony Orchestra last saw its music director. Claudio Abbado had taken a short sabbatical to study Mahler’s ninth symphony and then got too busy with other engagements to attend to his London job.

I wrote a piece about his absence in the Sunday Times. Questions were asked at the Arts Council and a certain discomfort was felt at the long absence. Abbado’s contract was not renewed (apparently on his volition since he could not bear working in the dull acoustic of the Barbican Centre). Small storm, quickly over.

Few music directors ever live in London. Most choose London as a convenient landing-point between other commitments. No one is much bothered where the Philharmonia or LPO conductor happens to be.

But the LSO is not any other London orchestra. It is the oldest, the benchmark, the defining London orchestra. It is the city’s swagger band, its trophy orchestra, always giving of its best when the chief is a genuine Londoner. Andre Previn lived in Surrey when he was in charge. Colin Davis was at home in Islington. The LSO was at home with itself.

Now, after the fleeting visits of Valery Gergiev, the orchestra needed and deserved a conductor who was in London, of London, with London. Simon Rattle, a Liverpudlian, spent the early part of his career talking up the merits of other UK cities at the expense of London. He maintained a home in the capital for a few years, but he has never been a Londoner. Lately, he  has gone on the record to say that his home and heart are now in Berlin.

When Rattle was voted chief of the Berlin Philharmonic, he announced at once that he would move to Berlin and master the German language (for the record, he still rehearses in English). Today, as the new chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, he will conduct its affairs from Berlin.

It’s hard to acclaim the Rattle succession with full-throated joy when he won’t be living in our midst.

Frank’s will shut on Friday, the WSJ reports.

That’s all folks.

It could be a question of attitude. One regular customer tells us: ‘I never liked Franks personally—-you are not permitted to browse, and must request what you want from the shopkeeper.’

Following my Standpoint essay on the Berlin Philharmonic elections, I put three questions to the orchestra’s co-chairmen,  Peter Riegelbauer and Ulrich Knörzer as they faced the press in Berlin. Slipped Disc’s questions:

1 Can you confirm no women are being considered? If not, why not?

2 A simple majority will be enough, right? If the orch splits 62-61, is there a plan for accommodating the ‘loser’?

3 All candidates will have given prior agreement to being considered. If the first-choice candidate declines the post (see my current Standpoint essay), will the players turn to the one with the next highest votes?

Berlin Phil replies below.

1.       “The first round of the election is open to any living conductor (female or male). If the first round of election (on 11^th May) will have no result, there will be a shortlist created for the second round on the basis of the results from the first round. We don’t know yet, how many people will be in this list (depends on the number of votes).”

2.       “There will be 124 musicians with tenure eligible to vote. The new Artistic Director must have a clear majority in order to be considered elected. We will not announce exact figures either prior to or following the election.”

3.       “The newly elected Artistic Director will be informed of her or his election immediately after the votes are counted and may then accept or decline the election. Should the person chosen decline the election, subsequent action (further voting or fixing a date for a new election) must be agreed upon in the orchestra assembly. No list of potential candidates for the position of Artistic Director (a so-called shortlist) will be drawn up before 11 May 2015, and no one will be called/asked whether she or he is available as a candidate prior to the election.”

Chi-chi Nwanoku informs us of the death, aged 85 and sadly without fame, of Arthur Labrew, the great recorder of black history in western classical music. Arthur was most widely known for his work on the origins of Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata (originally written for George Bridgetower), but he retrieved many other players of colour from undeserved obscurity and never received the recognition he craved in his hometown, Detroit. For a full account of his achievements, read here.

Eric Lu, 17, a Curtis student of Jonathan Biss and Robert McDonald, took first prize at the Ninth National Chopin Piano Competition Sunday at Miami-Dade County Auditorium, SFCR reports. Details here.

The Metropolitan Opera, which has already pledged its Chagall paintings to the bankers that control its debt, has added a pair of Maillol sculptures to the pawnbrokers’ pile. The Met showed a $21.9 million deficit in the last fiscal year. Bloomberg has the numbers here.

Simon Rattle signed on today as music director of the London Symphony Orchestra. He succeeds Valery Gergiev.

Rattle, 60, will work harder than Gergiev in rehearsal and will diversify the repertoire. He has launched a campaign for London to have a new concert hall. He has made clear, however, that he will continue to live with his family in Berlin.

More thoughts here on absenteeism and the LSO.

Press release follows.

The London Symphony Orchestra announced today the appointment of Sir Simon Rattle as its Music Director.

He will take up his appointment in September 2017, following in the footsteps of previous Principal Conductors including André Previn, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Colin Davis and Valery Gergiev. As Music Director he will be involved in every aspect of the LSO’s work as well as championing the importance of music and music education.

At the announcement of his appointment, Simon Rattle said: “During my work with the LSO over the last years, I noticed that despite the Orchestra’s long and illustrious history, they almost never refer to it. Instead, refreshingly, they talk about the future, what can they make anew, what can they improve, how can they reach further into the community. In terms of musical excellence, it is clear that the sky’s the limit, but equally important, in terms of philosophy, they constantly strive to be a twenty-first century orchestra. We share a dream in which performing, teaching and learning are indivisible, with wider dissemination of our art at its centre. I cannot imagine a better or more inspiring way to spend my next years, and feel immensely fortunate to have the LSO as my musical family and co-conspirators.”

Simon Rattle outlined his vision for universal access to music, with children and young people at its heart.  He called for new standards in making world-class music available to all. He stated his aim that every musician should be engaged in composing, improvising, mentoring and performing; that the creation of new music will be central to the process, working with leading composers and teachers; and that his appointment will generate new partnerships between London and the whole country to confirm the UK as a world leader in the arts.

Simon Rattle is currently Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker, where he was appointed in 2002. His first appearance with the London Symphony Orchestra was in October 1977, at the age of 22. He conducted the LSO at the opening ceremony of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, memorably performing Chariots of Fire with Rowan Atkinson. Most recently, in January this year, he was acclaimed for his two concerts with the LSO of Schumann, Stravinsky, Webern, Berg and Ligeti at the Barbican Centre.

Lennox Mackenzie, Chairman of the LSO, said: “I am thrilled that Sir Simon Rattle has accepted our invitation to lead the Orchestra into the future. On behalf of our whole Orchestra, we welcome him as our Music Director at this hugely important moment in the LSO’s history. I would also like to offer the Orchestra’s sincere thanks to Valery Gergiev who has been the LSO’s Principal Conductor since 2007 and who steps down from his position at the end of this year.”

Kathryn McDowell, Managing Director of the LSO, said: “This is the realisation of a dream, to bring Simon Rattle back to his home country to lead the extraordinary musicians of the LSO. We look forward to a new chapter of ambitious music-making that reaches deep into the communities we serve and touches people’s lives with the power of music.”

Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of the Barbican Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sir Simon Rattle to the LSO, our resident orchestra since the Centre opened. The presence of a world-class orchestra at the heart of this world-class arts centre, serving the widest range of audiences across London and beyond, has been an indispensable part of the Barbican’s success. We look forward to a period of thrilling development as Simon Rattle takes the LSO to ever greater heights of musical achievement and service to the community.”

Professor Barry Ife, Principal of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, said: “Sir Simon Rattle’s commitment to the next generation of musicians and to music education is world renowned. His appointment as Music Director of the LSO is an exciting opportunity, particularly for the students of the Guildhall School who regularly perform alongside the LSO’s musicians.”

I shall be in Budapest next Wednesday, lecturing at the Franz Liszt Academy on the present state of the music business. In advance of the presentation, the Liszt Academy has published an essay I have written on the music world’s over-dependence on a shrinking pool of international stars. Read the article here.