Sir Simon Rattle’s inaugural concert

Sir Simon Rattle’s inaugural concert

With standing ovations, bouquets and rave reviews, Simon Rattle started his debut as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. With this brilliant inaugural concert in November 2002, their three-year pre-nuptial engagement came to a spectacular end. At the end of Mahler's Fifth Symphony, the audience cheered the conductor, calling him back five times to bows. The new chief conductor performed a miracle of transparency and ecstasy, sharpness of tone and ambiguity. He launched his 10-year tenure mixing tradition with Gustav Mahler's Fifth Symphony and future with the contemporary piece Asyla, by the young composer Thomas Adès, receiving an enthusiastic welcome. Asyla was written for Rattle in 1997, and it was he who conducted its first performance in Birmingham. With this brilliant inaugural concert in November 2002, their three-year pre-nuptial engagement came to a spectacular end.