THE ARTISTS
Sir Simon Rattle
Born in Liverpool in 1955, Sir Simon Rattle has been Principal Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmonie since September 2002.
After studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, he took on various engagements in England and the US, where he was principal guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was 25 when he began his close association with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), first as principal conductor and artistic adviser, then—until the 1998 season—as musical director. His tireless work and visionary artistic projects helped turn the CBSO into one of the world’s top-ranked orchestras.
In the concert hall and opera house, Simon Rattle’s extensive repertoire ranges from the Baroque era to contemporary music. He is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and works with leading orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic. Even before taking up his post as Principal Conductor, Simon Rattle had already collaborated regularly with the Berliner Philharmoniker for 15 years. Of the many recordings he has made with the orchestra, several have received prestigious awards. All of these releases were recorded live at the Philharmonie.
One of Sir Simon’s special passions is for bringing the work and music of the Berliner Philharmoniker to young people of diverse social and cultural backgrounds. To that end, he has established the education program Zukunft@BPhil, which enables the orchestra to pursue new approaches to promote its music. In 1994, Simon Rattle was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and has since received numerous distinctions. For his commitment to outreach work, Simon Rattle was awarded a Golden Camera and the Urania Medal in 2007.
Berliner Philharmoniker
The Berliner Philharmoniker, long considered one of the world’s finest orchestras, was founded in 1882 as a self-governing body. Its current artistic director is Sir Simon Rattle, who was appointed in September 2002.
The orchestra gave its first concert on October 17, 1882, under conductor Ludwig von Brenner, who was chosen by the musicians themselves. His successor, Hans von Bülow, went on to turn the Berliner Philharmoniker into one of Germany’s leading orchestras. Under Arthur Nikisch (1895–1922), its repertory grew to include works by Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, Strauss, Ravel, and Debussy. On Nikisch’s death, the then 36-year-old Wilhelm Furtwängler took over as principal conductor. Furtwängler concentrated on Classical and German Romantic repertoire, but also performed contemporary pieces. At the end of World War II, Leo Borchard became the orchestra’s principal conductor; following Borchard’s death in August 1945, the young Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache became artistic director. Furtwängler returned as chief conductor in 1952. The postwar period also saw the founding, in 1949, of the Society of Friends of the Berliner Philharmonie, which in subsequent years sponsored the building of the new Philharmonie and continues to provide the hall with financial support.
When Furtwängler died in 1954, Herbert von Karajan became the permanent conductor and artistic director. In the ensuing decades, he worked with the orchestra to develop a distinctive tonal quality and performing style that made the Berliner Philharmoniker famous all over the world. In October 1989, the players appointed Claudio Abbado their new principal conductor. Abbado devised a new type of programming that included thematic cycles of contemporary works performed alongside standard repertoire. An increased number of chamber recitals and concert performances of operas provided further distinction and variety to the orchestra’s activities.
With the appointment of Sir Simon Rattle, the orchestra began introducing a number of innovations. The orchestra’s change of status to a charitable foundation (the Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker) has created new opportunities and ensured the economic future the ensemble’s 129 full-time members. The foundation is supported by the generosity of its principal sponsor, Deutsche Bank. Central to this support is the orchestra’s education program, Zukunft@BPhil, which was set up at the time of Sir Simon’s appointment and which is intended to ensure that the orchestra reaches a broader and younger audience. Within the history of the Berliner Philharmoniker, this signifies an important expansion of the orchestra’s cultural mission, one to which it commits itself with unswerving dedication. In recognition of this commitment, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle were named international UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors in 2007—the first time this distinction has ever been bestowed upon an artistic ensemble.
BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER
Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director
FIRST VIOLIN
Guy Braunstein, First Concertmaster
Daishin Kashimoto, First Concertmaster
Daniel Stabrawa, First Concertmaster
Rainer Sonne, Concertmaster
Zoltán Almási
Maja Avramović
Simon Bernardini
Wolfram Brandl
Peter Brem
Armin Brunner
Andreas Buschatz
Alessandro Cappone
Madeleine Carruzzo
Aline Champion
Felicitas Clamor-Hofmeister
Laurentius Dinca
Sebastian Heesch
Aleksandar Ivić
Rüdiger Liebermann
Kotowa Machida
Helmut Mebert
Bastian Schäfer
SECOND VIOLIN
Christian Stadelmann, First Principal
Thomas Timm, First Principal
Christophe Horak, Principal
Daniel Bell
Holm Birkholz
Philipp Bohnen
Stanley Dodds
Cornelia Gartemann
Amadeus Heutling
Rainer Mehne
Christoph von der Nahmer
Raimar Orlovsky
Bettina Sartorius
Rachel Schmidt
Armin Schubert
Stephan Schulze
Christoph Streuli
Eva-Maria Tomasi
Romano Tommasini
VIOLA
Neithard Resa, First Principal
Naoko Shimizu, Principal
Wilfried Strehle, Principal
Micha Afkham
Julia Gartemann
Matthew Hunter
Ulrich Knörzer
Sebastian Krunnies
Walter Küssner
Martin von der Nahmer
Zdzisław Polonek
Martin Stegner
Wolfgang Talirz
CELLO
Georg Faust, First Principal
Ludwig Quandt, First Principal
Martin Löhr, Principal
Olaf Maninger, Principal
Richard Duven
Rachel Helleur
Christoph Igelbrink
Solène Kermarrec
Martin Menking
David Riniker
Nikolaus Römisch
Dietmar Schwalke
Knut Weber
BASS
Matthew McDonald, First Principal
Janne Saksala, First Principal
Esko Laine, Principal
Fora Baltacigil
Martin Heinze
Wolfgang Kohly
Peter Riegelbauer
Edicson Ruiz
Janusz Widzyk
Ulrich Wolff
FLUTE
Andreas Blau, Principal
Emmanuel Pahud, Principal
Prof. Michael Hasel
Jelka Weber
OBOE
Jonathan Kelly, Principal
Albrecht Mayer, Principal
Christoph Hartmann
Andreas Wittmann
Dominik Wollenweber, English Horn
CLARINET
Wenzel Fuchs, Principal
Alexander Bader
Walter Seyfarth
Manfred Preis, Bass Clarinet
BASSOON
Daniele Damiano, Principal
Stefan Schweigert, Principal
Mor Biron
Markus Weidmann
Marion Reinhard, Contrabassoon
HORN
Radek Baborak, Principal
Stefan Dohr, Principal
Stefan de Leval Jezierski
Fergus McWilliam
Georg Schreckenberger
Klaus Wallendorf
Sarah Willis
TRUMPET
Gábor Tarkövi, Principal
Tamás Velenczei, Principal
Thomas Clamor
Georg Hilser
Guillaume Jehl
Martin Kretzer
TROMBONE
Prof. Christhard Gössling, Principal
Olaf Ott, Principal
Thomas Leyendecker
Stefan Schulz
Jesper Busk Sörensen
TUBA
Paul Hümpel
Alexander von Puttkamer
TIMPANI
Rainer Seegers
Wieland Welzel
PERCUSSION
Raphael Haeger
Simon Rössler
Franz Schindlbeck
Jan Schlichte
HARP
Marie-Pierre Langlamet
CHAIRMEN
Stefan Dohr
Andreas Wittmann
MEDIA CHAIRMEN
Olaf Maninger
Emmanuel Pahud
ORCHESTRA COMMITTEE
Stanley Dodds
Ulrich Knörzer
Nikolaus Römisch
Christian Stadelmann
Martin Stegner
More Info