As Brexit takes effect, Mr. Rattle, a British-born conductor with a family in Germany, said that he would take the helm of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2023.
Simon Rattle, the acclaimed British-born conductor, returned to his home country several years ago to lead the London Symphony Orchestra — to fanfare and hopes of a new concert hall. But as Brexit takes effect and the prospects for that new hall remain far from certain, Mr. Rattle announced on Monday that he would leave in 2023 to take the helm of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich. Mr. Rattle,65, said in a statement that the reasons for his departure were “entirely personal.” His wife, the singer Magdalena Kozena, and their three school-age children live in Germany. But the announcement came as Brexit moved forward, which Mr. Rattle has long warned would do harm to Britain’s cultural life and the fortunes of touring orchestras like the London Symphony. His pending departure is “a real loss to the U.K.’s music scene,” Nicholas Kenyon, the managing director of the Barbican Center and Mr. Rattle’s biographer, said in an email. “And the emerging joint impact of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit is a deeply concerning issue for the future.” The London Symphony said that Mr. Rattle would extend his contract by just one year, until 2023 — a shorter extension than is usually desired by orchestras, which plan their seasons long in advance. Starting with the 2023-24 season, he will be the Bavarian Radio Symphony’s first chief conductor since the death of Mariss Jansons in 2019. (Mr. Rattle will take an emeritus position in London, allowing him to continue to lead projects there.) “My reasons for accepting the role of principal conductor in Munich are entirely personal,” he said in the statement, “enabling me to better manage the balance of my work and be close enough to home to be present for my children in a meaningful way.” Mr. Rattle’s family is based in Berlin, where he led the Berlin Philharmonic from 2002 to 2018. Mr. Rattle declined to comment beyond that statement.
