Sir Simon Rattle and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe with Brahms’s Fourth Symphony
Concert information
At the invitation of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Info
Transparent, lean, and sculptural – when Sir Simon Rattle leads the Chamber Orchestra of Europe through Brahms’s dark-hued Fourth Symphony, the chamber music qualities of the work come to the fore. Also tailored to the reduced forces of a chamber orchestra is Béla Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, with its expressive sounds and Hungarian rhythms. The concert opens with Ferruccio Busoni’s sensuous Sarabande – originally conceived as an orchestral study for his opera Doktor Faust, it unfolds a unique mystical atmosphere of its own.
Artists
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Sir Simon Rattle conductor
Programme
Béla Bartók
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, Sz 106
Interval
Ferruccio Busoni
Two Studies on Doctor Faust, op. 51: No. 1 Sarabande
Johannes Brahms
Symphony No. 4 in E minor, op. 98
Additional information
Duration ca. 2 hours (incl. 20 minutes interval)
Dates and tickets
Main Auditorium
23 to 75 €
Series O: International Chamber Orchestras
Background
Biography
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
In the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (COE), individual artistry is channelled into a shared musical purpose. The ensemble was founded in 1981 by young musicians who had met in the European Community Youth Orchestra. Today, its core consists of around 60 members who otherwise occupy leading positions in top orchestras or have made a name for themselves in chamber music or as professors at conservatories. From the outset, partnerships with distinguished conductors and soloists have shaped the COE’s artistic identity, with Claudio Abbado serving as an important mentor during its early years.
With him, the COE produced award-winning recordings, including Gioacchino Rossini’s opera Il viaggio a Reims and all of Franz Schubert’s symphonies. Nikolaus Harnoncourt also left a decisive mark with recordings of the complete Beethoven symphonies as well as opera productions at the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Festival, and the Styriarte. Today, the orchestra collaborates closely with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Sir Simon Rattle, and Sir András Schiff (who, following Bernard Haitink and Nikolaus and Alice Harnoncourt, are among the orchestra’s honorary members), as well as with artists such as Sir Antonio Pappano and Robin Ticciati. Since the 2018/19 season, the COE has appeared regularly at the Philharmonie Berlin at the invitation of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation. A central pillar of its repertoire is the music of the Viennese Classical period, heard in concerts around the world with soloists such as Lisa Batiashvili, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Janine Jansen, and Renaud Capuçon.
Sir Simon Rattle
From his earliest childhood, Simon Rattle was obsessed with music. At the age of four he began learning percussion, later adding piano and violin, and by sixteen he was already studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – first as Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser, then as Music Director – made the Liverpool-born musician famous. His debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1987 made a deep impression thanks to his energetic conducting style, his unreserved passion for music, and his artistic vision.
In 2002 he became the orchestra’s Chief Conductor. During his 16-year tenure he worked with the musicians to set many important courses for the future: the education programme, the Digital Concert Hall and the orchestra’s own label were founded, and the repertoire expanded significantly with new works. Artistic highlights of this collaboration include symphonic cycles of Sibelius, Mahler, Brahms, Schumann, and Beethoven, as well as staged performances by Peter Sellars of Bach’s St Matthew Passion and St John Passion, and the introduction of Late Night concerts. Even after the end of his tenure, Sir Simon Rattle – Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2023 and, since 2023, Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra – remains closely connected to the Berliner Philharmoniker.
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