Simon Rattle

Over a career, including extended tenures with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Simon Rattle has become recognized as one of the world's top conductors. Mostly focusing on symphonic music, he has also conducted major operatic productions. A native of Liverpool, Rattle was born on January 19, 1955. He studied piano, violin, and percussion as a youngster, joining the Merseyside Youth Orchestra as a percussionist and later playing with Britain's National Youth Orchestra. He gravitated naturally toward conducting, taking u...