Program
Wagner Prelude & Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Sibelius Symphony No. 7
Bartók The Miraculous Mandarin Suite
About the Conductor
Conductor | Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Rattle was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. From 1980 to 1998, Sir Simon was Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and was appointed Music Director in 1990. In 2002 he took up the position of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker where he remained until the end of the 2017-18 season. Sir Simon took up the position of Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra in September 2017. He will remain in this position until the 2023-24 season, when he will become the orchestra’s Conductor Emeritus. From the 2023-24 season Sir Simon will take up the position of Chief Conductor with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich. He is a Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Founding Patron of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.
Sir Simon has made over 70 recordings for EMI record label (now Warner Classics) and has received numerous prestigious international awards for his recordings on various labels. Sir Simon regularly tours within Europe and Asia and has strong longstanding relationships with the world’s leading orchestras. He regularly conducts the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Staatskapelle Berlin, Deutsche Symphonieorchester Berlin, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic. Music education is of supreme importance to Sir Simon, and his partnership with the Berliner Philiharmoniker broke new ground with the education programme Zukunft@Bphil, earning him the Comenius Prize, the Schiller Special Prize from the city of Mannheim, the Golden Camera and the Urania Medal.
Sir Simon has also been awarded several prestigious personal honours which include a knighthood in 1994, becoming a member of the Order of Merit from Her Majesty the Queen in 2014 and was recently bestowed the Order of Merit in Berlin in 2018. In 2019, Sir Simon was given the Freedom of the City of London.
About the Soloist
Pianist | Seong-Jin Cho
With an overwhelming talent and innate musicality, Seong-Jin Cho has made his mark as one of the consummate talents of his generation and most distinctive artists on the current music scene. His thoughtful and poetic, assertive and tender, virtuosic and colourful playing can combine panache with purity and is driven by an impressive natural sense of balance.
Seong-Jin Cho was brought to the world’s attention in 2015 when he won the First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw. In January 2016, he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. An artist high in demand, Cho works with the world's most prestigious orchestras including Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie- Orchester Berlin, Orchestre de Paris, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Conductors he regularly works with include Myung-Whun Chung, Iván Fischer, Jakub Hrůša, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Antonio Pappano and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
An active recitalist very much in demand, Seong-Jin Cho performs in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls including the main stage of Carnegie Hall as part of the Keyboard Virtuoso series, Concertgebouw Amsterdam in the Master Pianists series, Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, Konzerthaus Vienna, Prinzregententheater Munich, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Walt Disney Hall Los Angeles, Festival International de piano de la Roque d'Anthéron, Verbier Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Rheingau Musik Festival.
About the Orchestra
Orchestra | London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is built on the belief that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere. From orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners across the UK, Europe and the world. The London Symphony Orchestra was established in 1904, as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO’s reputation for uncompromising quality, and inspirational repertoires.
Today, the LSO is ranked among the world’s top orchestras, with a family of artists that includes Music Director Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, and Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas. In March 2021 it was announced that Sir Antonio Pappano will take up the role of Chief Conductor of the LSO from September 2024.
The LSO is Resident Orchestra at the Barbican in the City of London. The Orchestra reaches international audiences through touring and artistic residencies – including with the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara – and through digital partnerships and an extensive programme of live-streamed and on-demand online broadcasts. Through inspiring music, educational programmes and technological innovations, the LSO’s reach extends far beyond the concert hall. Thanks to the generous support of The Corporation of the City of London, Arts Council England, corporate supporters and individual donors, the LSO is able to continue sharing extraordinary music with as many people as possible, across London, and the world.