Simon Rattle hits a half-century
OrchestrasThere’s a party coming up at the AskonasHolt agency in London for their star conductor in the next few days.
It’s 50 years ago this month since a newly-hired agent Martin Campbell-White saw a kid of 17 organise and conduct a performance of Mahler’s second symphony at the Royal Academy of Music.
MC-W asked his boss if he could sign the kid.
Permission was granted. The rest is noise.
CBSO photo: Rattle, 1979
“The rest is noise.”
NL, you got that right.
Guessing this piece of puffery was designed to distract from the disgraceful sale of the agency to San Francisco Conservatory?
Confused: why do you think the sale was “disgraceful”?
I remember that performance. Simon went round all his friends at the Academy asking them if they would attend, because it was an ‘unofficial’ concert not recognised by the Academy who would not countenance a public concert put together by a student conductor. If I remember rightly, he also had to assemble the orchestra as he was not allowed to use the main Symphony orchestra,even though many of them actually came and played for him. Great me memories!
I was also there at the time. He was indeed denied use of the official First Orchestra and had to ask players to join him, but he was allowed to use the Duke’s Hall by the administration, so one shouldn’t over emphasize the independence: even then the establishment was in his corner.
Should say ‘great memories’.
most overrated conductor of our days – the worst was what he has done with the Berlin Philharmonic but they finally switched to best of our days
No conductor excels in all repertoire … but as the BPO unarguably has some of the world’s best musicians and they have unbridled authority to select their conductor, I think your judgement is suspect. Even if it weren’t, I would have thought Valery Gergiev was both the most over-rated (as well as greediest and most unprincipled) conductor in recent times …
Contrary to you, „they“ thought SSR is the best and chose him. He never pretended back then that he is the greatest Brahms and Bruckner interpreter, his many strengths elsewhere still made him a great choice.
Now for the current chief (great conductor, if maybe a bit overcontrolling): „They“ only considered him third choice at the conclave, the first two dividing the orchestra, then in need of a compromise candidate.
An utterly second rate conductor with all the correct opinions.
Ironically, Mahler 2 is his weakest Mahler symphony. If people judge him by that one, no wonder they hate him.
I heard the twenty-something Rattle conducting the LA Phil on a run-out concert in San Diego, and his Mahler 6 was overwhelming. His accompaniment to the then-concertmaster’s performance of the Berg violin concerto was similarly superb. He was certainly a huge talent then, and remains one now, even if his conducting has picked up a few mannerisms over time.
See my comment above to Duncan. As a colleague in the RAM conducting class with him at the time, I would say that the important point was that, at 17 years old, he was able to do it at all. Tamino’s comment above is spot on: Simon’s strengths are what made him.
Rattle’s Mahler 9 with the BRSO in Munich was one of the best concerts I have attended. Most listeners in the Isarphilharmonie were moved to tears in the Adagio …
I was a contemporary of Simon’s at the RAM in c1973 – he memorably played a fiendishly difficult 20c piano concerto (can’t remember the composer) – he was ‘going places’ even then! I moved on to Abbey Road, editing their classical recordings and there he was again, with early recordings being produced by John Willan.
I first heard Simon conduct Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto with the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra,and all these years later, I still think that was one of the most inspiring concerts I ever saw.