Just got back from a concert of the Berlin Philharmonic under their chief conductor Simon Rattle, and I am still in awe about one of the greatest performances I have ever heard in my life. The orchestra sounded absolutely amazing, and what Rattle did with the two pieces (”Seht die Sonne” by Magnus Lindberg and 9th symphony of Mahler) was so deep, honest and absolutely breathtaking that I am still beaming, even though I should be dead tired myself after a very long day. Backstage I had the chance to talk to him right after he came off stage; what a modest man - he must have felt that he had done something very special, but all he did was praising his orchestra and the composers. Young and very talented conductor Vladimir Jurowski told me a little later, that he thought that this was the greatest performance of any Mahler he had ever heard. In German we call this a “Sternstunde”. (more…)