I first heard Mahler's second symphony aged 11 in Liverpool, and it inspired me to become a conductor. — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
You don't like Liverpool: you either loathe it or you love it. And I don't know anyone who loathes it and comes from it. — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
Conductors make too much fuss about conductors! Humility and hard work are virtues. We're nothing without our musicians. — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
I am old enough to remember the enormous fight over Tate Modern. It is such a part of our cultural landscape now, we forget… — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
There are a few great orchestras in the world, thank goodness. Although some people do put them in ranking order, it's not like a… — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
The grapevine in England is an extraordinary thing. When there is a really brilliant young composer or soloist, we all hear about it. — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
One of the most extraordinary and all-encompassing forms of communication is music. It reaches places that all kinds of other things cannot reach. I'll… — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
With these big Wagner pieces, if I haven't started three years before, I'm screwed. You need time to look at the piece again and… — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
We have to be evangelists for music. We couldn't just be high priests of music. — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
The necessity for rules and strictness is a way of dealing with an enormously powerful impulse: Germans are among the most emotional people on… — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
The music lovers of London and the country deserve to have something where orchestras can flourish. You have no idea how wonderful an orchestra… — Simon Rattle Copy Share Image
