Sir Simon Rattle, Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), is in Australia for a series of concerts presenting the LSO in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. It is only the fourth visit to Australia by this illustrious world-renowned orchestra in its 120 years of operation, and Rattle’s third visit. His first was with the Berliner Philharmoniker, when he was Principal Conductor for 16 years, and the second was as Guest Conductor with the Australian World Orchestra.
On the eve of the opening night concert in Brisbane, with a program including John Adams, Debussy and Ravel, Rattle shared his thoughts and aspirations with ABC Radio National presenter, Martin Buzacott. The discussion was wide-ranging, covering his distinguished career, the importance of musical education, presenting live music performances in the digital age and his recent public statements on funding cuts to the arts in the UK.
Rattle prefers to be called Simon, eschewing the title of Sir: ‘Only my parents really love to use that title,’ he explained, while adding that he does not like ‘Maestro’ either. ‘The word Maestro is something only the Americans use,’ he said, laughing.
A no-nonsense, north of England, Liverpool-born child of middle-class jazz-loving parents, Rattle was brought up with the music of The Beatles in the 1960s, but from an early age fell in love with classical music. He was 11 years old when he saw George Hurst conduct the Mahler 2 (Resurrection Symphony) with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Falling in love with the music, he decided there and then that he would be a conductor. His astonishing rise to fame as a young wunderkind is well-documented.
Advocacy and a love of Mahler
Rattle is known for his unequivocal defence of classical music and his advocacy of the profession. His recent comments, after the Arts Council of England cut funding to many of London’s best known cultural organisations, went viral. Just a week before his arrival in Australia, he was conducting an LSO concert at the Barbican in London of Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, and he combined it with a BBC Singers’ performance of Poulenc’s Figure Humaine. The now reprieved choir had been threatened with being cut by the BBC and he wanted to show his solidarity.
Famously describing the Arts Council’s ‘levelling up’ cuts as ‘cultural vandalism’, in the Brisbane conversation he explained that he felt ‘I had to start shouting a bit’. He recounted a conversation many years prior with Sir Peter Hall, then Director of the National Theatre. When Hall was being attacked by the Thatcher Government for defending the arts, he told Rattle that it would be his turn next. Rattle said he now felt that his time had come. He also said, with some sadness, ‘I feel these culture wars point to a view that Britain does not have an appetite for the arts in the current climate.’
He also told stories and anecdotes, of course. The first time he conducted Tristan und Isolde at the Vienna Philharmonic, the librarian loaned him Mahler’s own score of the work with all his markings. ‘It was extraordinary and quite moving,’ he said. ‘I felt as if Mahler was standing over me as I read it.’
He spoke of his passion for Mahler’s music and the rediscovery of the composer by Leonard Bernstein. He also talked about Georg Solti who, he says, ‘Famously asked the Vienna Phil to perform the then unfashionable Mahler and was turned down. He then turned to the LSO, who accepted with alacrity.’ The LSO has made Mahler’s works one of its calling cards ever since.
His love of Mahler is well-known, particularly the Resurrection Symphony, but he also spoke warmly of the Seventh, which is the second concert program on the Australian tour. ‘Mahler’s Seventh is the black sheep of his symphonies,’ he said. ‘It’s a weird structure that no one had done before with five movements, but it is also ingenious and probably written well before its time.’
Music education and advice
Audience members also had the opportunity to submit questions prior to the evening, and Buzacott explored some of them.
A few questions centred on Rattle’s long-held passion for music education and involving people in music at a community level. He has famously created educational and schools’ programs in his roles with both the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Currently, he is concerned at how music in schools in England has been attacked and that musical education could revert to being just the province of the middle-class. He noted with real concern how many orchestral players had left the profession, due to the scarcity of work during COVID, followed by the orchestral and opera funding cuts.
He was asked for his advice to young conductors and said simply: ‘Be curious. Look around you, see everything, go to galleries, explore. You need to be a whole person and live life before you can become a conductor.’
And how does he manage an orchestra and stay fresh as a conductor?
As far as a first rehearsal with a new orchestra is concerned, Rattle was unequivocal: ‘Don’t talk too much. They want to see what you can do, not hear you. The orchestra will read you and you must impress at first sight.’
He added: ‘It is always scary the first time you conduct a piece. We all have nerves, of course. But it gets better and you learn more as you go along.’
Musical favourites and the digital age
His favourite musical pieces? ‘It’s extremely hard to answer that,’ he said wryly. ‘But I guess if I could name two works, they would be Haydn’s Creation and Bach’s St Matthew Passion, though there are several thousand more pieces too!’
Buzacott quizzed him on his tenure with the CBSO and how, as a 25-year-old, he purportedly reinvented the orchestra and was subsequently responsible for creating its fine concert hall. Suitably self-deprecating, Rattle said he was helped by a city council that put no ceiling on what could be achieved.
Rattle talked about the creation of a Digital Music Concert Hall with the LSO and how exciting that development has been. ‘However, nothing can replace the social context of attending a live concert,’ he said. ‘The contribution of an audience is integral to any musical event. We feed off and respond to audience engagement and interaction.’
And his vision for the orchestra of the future? ‘One where there is an increased possibility of engagement with more and more extraordinary music and composers,’ he said, wishfully.
The hour passed swiftly. Rattle is strongly outspoken and passionate about music, while his determination to reach as many of the public as possible through music is central to his philosophy. He has a gentle demeanour, but is charismatic and charming in equal measure. He also has a mischievous sparkle that is infectious and engaging, highlighting a sense of fun and of self-deprecating humour. With boundless energy, his commitment to the music he loves and his brilliance in its execution shines through. It will be a joy to watch him on the podium – a musical genius at work.
Sir Simon Rattle was in conversation with Martin Buzacott in the Concert Hall, QPAC on 27 April 2023.
