Sir Simon Rattle/Berliner Philharmoniker

One of the elite orchestras on the world stage, the Berliner Philharmoniker -- also widely known as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra -- was founded in Imperial Germany in 1882. Hans von Bülow took over as conductor in 1887, raising the prestige of the organization, as did subsequent guest conductors, including Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. In the 20th century, they survived the loss of their venue and their conductor during World War II and went on to thrive under conductor Herbert von Karajan, who led the group from 1956 to 1989. During h...