Carnegie Hall

Convincing charisma, a love for experimentation, commitment to contemporary music, great social and pedagogical engagement, and unreserved artistic seriousness—all of this makes Liverpool native Sir Simon Rattle one of the most fascinating conducting personalities of our time. Since the start of the 2023–2024 season, Mr. Rattle has been the new chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Rattle gained an international reputation during his time with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998), which he led to world fame. He was chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker between 2002 and 2018 and music director of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) between 2017 and 2023. As the LSO’s conductor emeritus, the 69-year-old Briton with a German passport remains associated with the orchestra. He also works closely with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, of which he is principal artist. Mr. Rattle regularly tours throughout Europe and Asia and maintains long-standing relationships with leading orchestras worldwide that include the Vienna Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and Czech Philharmonic.

He is a sought-after guest at major opera houses that include the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Berlin State Opera; Vienna State Opera; Metropolitan Opera; and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, where he most recently appeared with the LSO in a new production of Berg’s Wozzeck.

During his time as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Mr. Rattle made regular guest appearances at the Salzburg Easter Festival, in Baden-Baden, and in Aix-en-Provence. His 70 recordings have received the highest honors and awards. Mr. Rattle was highly committed to the Berliner Philharmoniker’s education program Zukunft@BPhil, for which he also received several awards.

In London, he founded the LSO East London Academy in 2019, a collaboration between the LSO and 10 districts in East London to promote exceptional musical talents, regardless of their backgrounds.

Mr. Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra have released recordings of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Siegfried; Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Ninth Symphony; and a musica viva album with works by Ondřej Adámek. The recording of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony received a Diapason d’Or, Pizzicato Supersonic Award, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice Award.

Lester Lynch is recognized for his charismatic and commanding voice in portrayals of several important characters in Verdi operas, including his signature role of Conte di Luna in Il trovatore, Nabucco, Macbeth, Rigoletto, Falstaff, and Simon Boccanegra. In contemporary repertoire, he is known for his portrayals in pieces such as Dallapiccola’s Il prigioniero, Busoni’s Doktor Faust, and Nico Muhly’s The Glitch, garnering many accolades.

Mr. Lynch made his debut at the renowned Teatro alla Scala in Milan, singing the role of Crown in Porgy and Bess and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. Other appearances on major stages and with major orchestras include Lyric Opera of Chicago, Semperoper Dresden, Bergen National Opera, Seattle Opera, Vienna Volksoper, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, and New York Philharmonic.

Recent performances include Escamillo in Carmen with Edmonton Opera, and Bluebeard in a new production of Bluebeard’s Castle with both the Edinburgh Festival and New Zealand Opera. Mr. Lynch made his film debut in November 2021 as Merrivale in Gordon Getty’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips, based on the popular 1934 novella by James Hilton. His recording work is featured on Pentatone, including performances as Iago in Verdi’s Otello, Michele in Puccini’s Il tabarro, Germont in La traviata, and his 2017 debut solo album, On My Journey Now. His new recording that features Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances and Death and Brahms’s Vier ernste Gesänge will be released in October.

With the 2023–2024 season, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) welcomes its new chief conductor, Sir Simon Rattle. As the sixth chief conductor in the line of important orchestra leaders—following Eugen Jochum, Rafael Kubelík, Colin Davis, Lorin Maazel, and Mariss Jansons—Mr. Rattle is a conductor open to new artistic paths.

The BRSO, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, developed into an internationally renowned orchestra soon after its founding in 1949. In addition to interpreting the Classical-Romantic repertoire, the orchesta’s priority has been the cultivation of contemporary music within the framework of its influential musica viva series, founded by Karl Amadeus Hartmann in 1945.

Since the orchestra’s beginnings, many renowned guest conductors—such as Leonard Bernstein, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, Erich and Carlos Kleiber, Otto Klemperer, Kurt Sanderling, Wolfgang Sawallisch, and Georg Solti—have left their mark on the ensemble. Today, Herbert Blomstedt, Iván Fischer, Daniel Harding, Riccardo Muti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Franz Welser-Möst are some of its important regular partners.

The orchestra tours regularly throughout Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Japanese music critics voted the BRSO’s concerts under the direction of Zubin Mehta the best concerts in 2018. Its numerous recordings have repeatedly won national and international awards, including a Grammy in 2006. In 2023, the orchestra’s recording of Gustav Mahler’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Mr. Rattle was awarded the Diapason d’Or. That same year, the BRSO was ranked the third best orchestra in the world by a panel of 15 leading international music critics in Bachtrack.