Sir Simon Rattle conducts Rameau and Berlioz

In 1993, Sir Simon Rattle was already making waves with his masterful conducting and audacious programming. Just six years later the orchestra would vote by a large majority to appoint him as its artistic director and new principal conductor succeeding Claudio Abbado. This fascinating program is a typical example of the groundbreaking choices that propelled him to the top of his field. It begins with Rameau’s Les Boréades, the last of the composer’s five tragédies en musique, a remarkable yet paradoxical work that blends unprecedented musical invention with a structure and libretto grounded in early 18th-century forms. The second half of the program is devoted to Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a work composed when he was only 26 years old that put him well on his way to being acclaimed as one of the “musicians of the future”.

Photo: Sir Simon Rattle © Oliver Helbig