Simon Rattle, the British-born conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, is one of the best-known classical musicians alive. His influence shows up in all sorts of places: at the Metropolitan Opera, where musicians still speak of his presence there in reverent tones, and in West Philadelphia where his advocacy of Venezuela’s El Sistema helped inspire trumpeter Stanford Thompson to create Play On Philly, a music education program that touches hundreds of lives.
Yet Simon Rattle’s reputation has been garnered, for the most part, for how he conducts the symphony orchestras with whom he has the closest relationships, be they in Britain, Europe, or where he most frequently conducts in America - in Philadelphia. WRTI’s Susan Lewis profiles Simon Rattle.
