Post by Dan Dare on Jun 17, 2024 9:39:56 GMT
Liverpool-born Simon Rattle resigned as the musial director of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2023 and has now taken a similar position with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, based in Munich.
In an interview with The Times, Sir Simon explains his reasons for returning to Germany – he led the Berlin Philharmonic for 16 years before joining the LSO – and abandoning the cultural scene in Britain.
He says that being able to spend more time with his family was his principal reason for taking the Munich job, although Brexit and Britain’s arts budgets were an added incentive. He says, “I couldn’t do the constant touring any more,” which is what the LSO must do to survive financially. “The Munich orchestra also tours — we’re coming to the Proms — but it’s nothing of the scale of the LSO, which does 100 dates a year. And I’m talking ‘six in the morning from Stansted airport’ touring, not business class with a nice gentle schedule.”
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Rattle is now a German citizen, having lived there since the early 2000s. He says it makes life easier post-Brexit, and he wanted German passports for his children.
In an interview with The Times, Sir Simon explains his reasons for returning to Germany – he led the Berlin Philharmonic for 16 years before joining the LSO – and abandoning the cultural scene in Britain.
He says that being able to spend more time with his family was his principal reason for taking the Munich job, although Brexit and Britain’s arts budgets were an added incentive. He says, “I couldn’t do the constant touring any more,” which is what the LSO must do to survive financially. “The Munich orchestra also tours — we’re coming to the Proms — but it’s nothing of the scale of the LSO, which does 100 dates a year. And I’m talking ‘six in the morning from Stansted airport’ touring, not business class with a nice gentle schedule.”
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“Munich’s culture budget for 2024 is €285 million, while Berlin’s is just under €1 billion, which is twice as much as what England gives in total to the arts”.
The BBC and the Arts Council, both announced big cuts to classical music last year.