Over coffee at his local London café, Sir Simon Rattle talks to Clive Paget about everything from Bruckner to Brexit, as well as music education and the London Symphony Orchestra’s forthcoming tour of Australia.

Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Simon Rattle conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in London. Photo courtesy of the LSO

If, like me, your concertgoing life began in England around 1980, you will likely have grown up with Simon Rattle. Appointed Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the age of 25, every other month it seemed the Liverpool-born wunderkind with the mop of curly hair achieved something of note. Whether it was his bold, innovative programming, or earth-shattering performances, Birmingham was...