An article in the Daily Telegraph suggests that the musicians of the
Berlin Philharmonic may be about to fire their music director, Sir
Simon Rattle:
Sir Simon Rattle’s future as conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic could be in doubt because of his own musicians.
Rumours of unrest emerged after Sir Simon announced the orchestra’s programme for the year.
They are reportedly going to vote on whether to keep him in the next few days.
Sir Simon took over in 2002 and is under contract until 2012 despite
describing his relationship with the players as "turbulent"."The orchestra and Sir Simon are in the process of negotiating," said Stefan Stahnke, a spokesman for the Philharmonic.
"The orchestra has a very democratic tradition. It’s often called the
orchestra republic – the musicians decide their chief conductor
themselves."A positive vote could pave the way for Sir Simon’s contract to be
extended but a rejection could force him into the arms of competing
orchestras.