The date of 27 January is one of the most significant in music history, for it was on this day in 1756 that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. Some 32 years later, in 1788, he composed his last three symphonies within the space of only three months, each of which was radically different from the other and whose originality opened up new perspectives in the history of the genre. This trilogy could scarcely be in more expert hands for this concert, given that the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, established in 1986, is a British ensemble expressly specialising in performances on period instruments of works created in the second half of the 18th century. In terms of its organisation, the orchestra is perfectly democratic and self-governing, and as a consequence works regularly with several outstanding conductors. It has no artistic director, and is instead led alternately by four musicians – one of them Sir John Eliot Gardiner’s regular orchestra leader Kati Debretzeni – and three so-called Principal Artists: Iván Fischer, Vladimir Jurowski and, since 1992, Sir Simon Rattle. Assuming the leadership of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the age of 25, Rattle spent the next 18 years elevating a mediocre provincial orchestra to worldwide fame. In 2002, he signed a ten-year contract with the Berlin Philharmonic, since extended by a further six years. An enthusiastic supporter of his hometown football club Liverpool FC and married to the world-renowned Czech soprano Magdalena Kožená, Rattle is a musical omnivore, conducting both works of the Classical Viennese school and symphonies of the great Romantic composers in the authentic style, while also remaining open to contemporary music.

Presented by: