With the oratorio “The Creation” by Joseph Haydn, star conductor Sir Simon Rattle made his debut as head of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir. Everyone is very proud and grateful to be entering a new era with Rattle, said the director of the Bavarian Radio (BR), Katja Wildermuth, at the beginning of the concert on Thursday evening in Munich. “He represents a spirit of openness, creativity and diversity within classical music.”
The stage of Munich’s Herkulessaal was full – with choir, orchestra and soloists, when Rattle came on to great applause and began the concert without further ado. Baritone Christian Gerhaher, soprano Lucy Crowe and tenor Benjamin Bruns sang the three archangels Uriel, Raphael and Gabriel, who told the biblical story of the creation of the world with recitatives and arias.
“The Creation” is one of Rattle’s favorite works. “It contains everything, the whole world. It is both a look back and a look far into the future of what music can be,” says the musician about the oratorio.
The 68-year-old was appointed head of the BRSO in 2021, succeeding Mariss Jansons, who died unexpectedly in 2019. But the people of Munich had to be patient until he took office. The German-British man still wanted to fulfill his obligation as music director of the London Symphony Orchestra.
To start, Rattle is giving two concerts in a row in Munich. The second evening on Friday will be broadcast live on the radio station BR-Klassik. We then move on to the magnificent Benedictine Abbey of Ottobeuren, where another concert is planned for Sunday (September 24th), which can also be seen in the video live stream and on the television channel 3sat. The concert should then be available in the media library.
BRSO BR-Classic
