From 1980 to 1998, Sir Simon was Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and was appointed Music Director in 1990. He moved to Berlin in 2002 and held the positions of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker until he stepped down in 2018. Sir Simon became Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra in September 2017 and spent the 2017-18 season at the helm of both ensembles.

 

 

Sir Simon has longstanding relationships with the leading orchestras in London, Europe, and the USA; initially working closely with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, and more recently with The Philadelphia Orchestra. He regularly conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker, with whom he has recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos with Alfred Brendel and is also a Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Founding Patron of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

 

 

Born in Lviv, Poland, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. His studies at the Juilliard School were supported by the sponsorship of the Epstein Scholarship Programme of the Boys Clubs of America, and he subsequently won the Young Concert Artists Award. Additionally, he attended Columbia University, where he majored in French. Emanuel captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and in 1979 he won the coveted Avery Fisher Prize in New York.

 

 

The London Symphony Orchestra is bringing the greatest music to the greatest number of people. This is at the heart of everything that it does. This commitment to serving the music and the people who love music is borne of a unique ethos developed over more than 100 years. Established in 1904 by a number of London's finest musicians, the LSO is a self-governing musical collective built on artistic ownership and partnership.

 

 

 

By taking full control of their activities, the founding members were able to set an agenda that pushed music-making to the fore. The Orchestra is still owned by its Members and has a signature sound emanating from the combined zeal and virtuosity of these 90 brilliant musicians who come from around the world. Music-making remains firmly at the center of the Orchestra's activities, and this approach is embraced by a dedicated and enthusiastic administration.

 

1. Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Pianist: Emanuel Ax

- Intermission -

1. Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27