In full flight

A NEW JOB IS A challenge for anybody. And when Simon Rattle became conductor and musical arranger for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1999, he had no illusions about what lay ahead.

Founded in 1887, the orchestra is one of the greatest in the world. It's renowned for both its deep, dark sound and for the virtuosity of its members. Rattle, who won accolades for his work with Britain's City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), had worked with the Berlin Philharmonic on and off for 12 years - and has been impressed.

'There's something special about the sound,' Rattle says during a visit to New York, just before the orchestra's Asian tour. 'It seems to come up from the bowels of the Earth.'

The orchestra will perform at the Cultural Centre Concert Hall next Sunday and Monday, with two separate programmes, including works by Beethoven, Berlioz and Ravel, and then Haydn, Thomas Ades and Richard Strauss.

'I remember conducting them for the first time in 1987, and there was this extraordinary sound which was coming from underneath,' says Rattle. 'It was like nothing I'd experienced before. It's as though you've asked someone to get you a piece of wood and they've gone and got you the whole roots of the tree.'

The legacy of the Berlin Philharmonic would have daunted lesser conductors. Previous musical directors have been enshrined in the pantheon of Germanic classical-music greats. Arthur Nikisch, who held the post for 27 years, is credited with forging the orchestra's reputation for personal virtuosity. 'Every member deserves to be described as an artist,' he said. Herbert von Karajan, who was at the helm for 35 years, continually developed the orchestra's dark sound until his death in 1989. Rattle's approach has been to extend the orchestra's talents into new areas while tending to the proven qualities that made it great.