Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal conductor of the
Berlin Philharmonic from 2002 to 2018. He has been the music director of the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
since September 2017. Among the world's leading conductors, in a 2015 ''
Bachtrack
''Bachtrack'' is a London-based international online music magazine which publishes listings of classical music, opera, ballet and dance, as well as reviews of these genres, interviews and general feature articles.
History
Bachtrack Ltd was r ...
'' poll, he was ranked by music critics as one of the world's best living conductors.
Rattle is also the patron of Birmingham Schools' Symphony Orchestra, arranged during his tenure with CBSO in mid 1990s. The Youth Orchestra is now under the auspices of charitable business Services for Education. He received the
Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2001 at the
Classic Brit Awards.
Biography
Early life
Simon Rattle was born in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, the son of Pauline Lila Violet (Greening) and Denis Guttridge Rattle, a lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. He was educated at
Liverpool College. Although Rattle studied piano and violin, his early work with orchestras was as a percussionist for the Merseyside Youth Orchestra (now the
Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra). He entered the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
(now part of the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...
) in 1971. There, his teachers included
John Carewe. In 1974, his graduation year, Rattle won the John Player International Conducting Competition.
After organising and conducting a performance of
Mahler's Second Symphony while he was still at the academy, he was talent-spotted by the music agent Martin Campbell-White, of
Harold Holt Ltd (now Askonas Holt Ltd), who has since managed Rattle's career. He spent the academic year 1980–81 at
St Anne's College, Oxford studying English Language and Literature. He had been attracted to the college by the reputation of Dorothy Bednarowska,
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
and Tutor in English. He was elected an
Honorary Fellow of
St Anne's in 1991. He was admitted to the degree of
Doctor of Music ''honoris causa'' of the University of Oxford in 1999.
Early career
In 1974, he was made assistant conductor of the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
He joined the Glyndebourne music staff at the age of 20 in 1975. He went on to conduct over 200 performances of 13 different operas at Glyndebourne and on tour during the subsequent 28 years.
His first
Prom at the
Royal Albert Hall, conducting the
London Sinfonietta, was, according to the BBC Proms Archive website, on 9 August 1976. The programme included
Harrison Birtwistle's ''Meridian'' and
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
's
First Chamber Symphony. In 1977, he became assistant conductor of the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
His time with the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) from 1980 to 1998 drew him to the attention of critics and the public. In 1980, Rattle became the CBSO's Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser, and in 1990, music director. Rattle increased both his profile and that of the orchestra over his tenure. One of his long-term concert projects was the series of concerts of
20th-century music titled "Towards the Millennium". One other major achievement during his time was the move of the CBSO from its former venue,
Birmingham Town Hall, to a newly built concert hall,
Symphony Hall, in 1991. The BBC commissioned film director
Jaine Green to follow him in his final year with the CBSO to make ''Simon Rattle—Moving On''.
Rattle was appointed a CBE in 1987 and made a
Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...
in 1994. In 1992, Rattle was named a Principal Guest Conductor of the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), along with
Frans Brüggen. Rattle now has the title of Principal Artist with the OAE. In 2001, he conducted the OAE at
Glyndebourne in their first production of ''
Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, w ...
'' with a "period-instrument" orchestra.
Rattle strongly supported youth music. He led two attempts at gaining the record for the World's Largest Orchestra, both designed to raise awareness of youth music in schools. The first, in 1996, was unsuccessful. The second, in 1998, did succeed and the record held at nearly 4,000 musicians until it was broken in 2000 by a group in Vancouver.
In 2000, Rattle was presented with the Gold Medal of the
Royal Philharmonic Society. From 29 April to 17 May 2002, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra, making live recordings of the complete Beethoven symphonies. In May 2006, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the
Society of Arts. In 2011, the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
presented him with an Honorary Doctorate. He was appointed
Member of the Order of Merit (OM) in the 2014 New Year Honours.
Rattle conducted the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
at the
Opening of the London Olympics 2012, performing
Chariots of Fire with guest
Rowan Atkinson playing his
Mr. Bean Character.
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Rattle made his conducting debut with the
Berlin Philharmonic (BPO) in 1987, in a performance of
Gustav Mahler's
Symphony No. 6. In 1999, Rattle was appointed as successor to
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...
as the orchestra's principal conductor. The appointment, was decided on in a 23 June vote by the orchestra's members. At the time the vote was considered somewhat controversial, as several members of the orchestra were earlier reported to have preferred
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim (; in he, דניאל בארנבוים, born 15 November 1942) is an Argentine-born classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin. He has been since 1992 General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera and "Staatskapellmeist ...
for the post. Nevertheless, Rattle won the post and proceeded to win over his detractors by refusing to sign the contract until he had ensured that every member of the orchestra was paid fairly, and also that the orchestra would gain artistic independence from the
Berlin Senate.
Before leaving for Germany and on his arrival, Rattle controversially attacked the British attitude to culture in general, and in particular the artists of the
Britart movement, together with the state funding of culture in the UK.
Since his appointment, Rattle has reorganised the Berlin Philharmonic into a foundation, meaning its activities are more under the control of the members rather than politicians. He has also ensured that orchestra members' wages have increased quite dramatically, after falling over the previous few years. He gave his first concert as principal conductor of the BPO on 7 September 2002, leading performances of
Thomas Adès' ''
Asyla'' and Mahler's
Symphony No. 5, performances which received rave reviews from the press worldwide and were recorded for CD and DVD release by EMI. Early collaborative projects in the Berlin community with Rattle and the BPO involved a choreographed performance of Stravinsky's ''
The Rite of Spring'' danced by school children, documented in ''
Rhythm Is It!
''Rhythm Is It!'' is a 2004 German documentary film directed by Thomas Grube and Enrique Sánchez Lansch. The film documents a project undertaken by conductor Simon Rattle and choreographer Royston Maldoom to stage a performance of Stravinsky's ...
'', and a film project with
Mark-Anthony Turnage's ''Blood on the Floor''. He has also continued to champion contemporary music in Berlin. The orchestra has established its first education department during Rattle's tenure.
Criticism of Rattle's tenure with the Berlin Philharmonic began to appear after their first season together, and continued in their second season. Rattle himself stated in 2005 that his relationship with the BPO musicians could sometimes be "turbulent", but also "never destructively so".
In 2006, a new controversy began in the German press as to the quality of Rattle's concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic, with criticism from the German critic Manuel Brug in ''Die Welt''. One musician who wrote to the press to defend Rattle was the pianist
Alfred Brendel. In 2007, the BPO/Rattle recording of
Brahms's ''
Ein deutsches Requiem'' received the Classic FM Gramophone best choral disc award.
Rattle was originally contracted to lead the BPO through 2012, but in April 2008 the BPO musicians voted to extend his contract as chief conductor for an additional ten years past the next season, to 2018. In January 2013, he announced his scheduled departure from the Berlin Philharmonic at the close of the 2017–2018 season. His final Berlin Philharmonic concert as chief conductor was at the
Waldbühne on 24 June 2018.
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid t ...
appointed Rattle and the BPO as Goodwill Ambassadors in November 2007. He is a patron of the
Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Conducting in North America
Rattle made his North American debut in 1976, conducting the
London Schools Symphony Orchestra at the
Hollywood Bowl. He first conducted the
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...
in 1979 during the music directorship of
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor.
From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...
, and was their Principal Guest Conductor from 1981 to 1994. He has also guest-conducted the
Cleveland Orchestra,
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenu ...
,
San Francisco Symphony,
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...
and
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1 ...
. His New York City debut was with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1985. In 2000, Rattle was the music director of the
Ojai Music Festival.
In 1993, Rattle made his conducting debut with the
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscripti ...
. He returned for guest conducting engagements in 1999 and 2000. The musical relationship between Rattle and the Philadelphia Orchestra was reported to be such that Philadelphia wanted to hire Rattle as its next music director after
Wolfgang Sawallisch, but Rattle declined. Rattle has continued to guest-conduct the Philadelphia Orchestra, including appearances in 2006 and the Philadelphia Orchestra's first performances of
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
's cantata ''
Das Paradies und die Peri
''Paradise and the Peri'', in German ''Das Paradies und die Peri'', is a secular oratorio for soloists, choir, and orchestra by Robert Schumann. Completed in 1843, the work was published as Schumann's Op. 50.
The work is based on a German tran ...
'' in November 2007.
London Symphony Orchestra
In March 2015, the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
(LSO) announced the appointment of Rattle as its next music director, effective with the 2017–2018 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons. He has recorded commercially for the LSO Live label. In January 2021, the LSO announced an extension of Rattle's contract as music director through 2023, at which time Rattle is scheduled to stand down from the LSO and subsequently to take the title of conductor emeritus for life.
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
In 2010, Rattle first guest-conducted the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO). In January 2021, the BRSO announced the appointment of Rattle as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2023–2024 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.
Awards
* 2000
Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists
* 2012
Wolf Prize in Arts Laureate in Music
* 2013
Léonie Sonning Music Prize
* 2016
Helpmann Award, Best Orchestral Concert of the Year
* 2022 Knight Commander's Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...
Musical styles and recordings
Rattle has conducted a wide variety of music, including some with
period instruments (either actual surviving historical
musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s or modernly made ones informed by commonly used designs and material of the time), but he is best known for his interpretations of late 19th- and early 20th-century composers such as
Gustav Mahler, with a recording of Mahler's Second Symphony winning several awards on its release. He has also championed much
contemporary music, an example of this being the 1996 TV series ''Leaving Home'', where he presents a 7-part survey of musical styles and conductors with excerpts recorded by the CBSO.
Other recordings in Berlin have included
Dvořák tone poems, Mahler's
Symphony No. 9 and
Claude Debussy
(Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...
's ''
La Mer La Mer may refer to:
* ''La mer'' (Debussy), an orchestral composition by Claude Debussy
* "La Mer" (song), a 1946 song by Charles Trenet
*La Mer (horse)
La Mer was a thoroughbred racehorse, who raced from 1976 to 1979.
La Mer was sired by Co ...
''. The ''
Gramophone Magazine
''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ...
'' praised the latter as a "magnificent disc" and drew favourable comparisons with interpretations of the piece by Rattle's immediate predecessors,
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...
and
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wi ...
. He has also worked with the
Toronto Children's Chorus
The Toronto Children's Chorus is a children's choir based in Toronto. It was founded in 1978 by Jean Ashworth Bartle. The group has close to 500 members aged 6 to 30.
History
In 1982, the choir won first prize at the International Eisteddfod in ...
. Rattle and the BPO also recorded
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite '' The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
's ''
The Planets
''The Planets'', Op. 32, is a seven- movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is named ...
'' (EMI), which was the ''BBC Music Magazine'' Orchestra Choice. In addition, Rattle's acclaimed complete 1989 recording of
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
's opera ''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy'', its ...
'' was used as the soundtrack for the equally acclaimed 1993 television production of the work. It was the first made-for-television production of ''Porgy and Bess'' ever presented. Rattle's 2007 recording of
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
's ''
Ein deutsches Requiem'' received praise from ''BBC Music Magazine'', as "Disc of the Month" for April 2007, "as probably the best new version of the ''Requiem'' I've heard in quite some years". Rattle and the BPO have also released recordings of
Anton Bruckner's
Fourth Symphony (''Romantic''), and
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...
's Symphonies Nos.
88,
89,
90,
91,
92 and
Sinfonia Concertante
Sinfonia concertante (; also called ''symphonie concertante'') is an orchestral work, normally in several movements, in which one or more solo instruments contrast with the full orchestra.Collins: ''Encyclopedia of Music'', William Collins Sons & C ...
.
Rattle's recording of Brahms's ''Ein deutsches Requiem'' with the BPO received the Choral Performance
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
in 2008. He has won two other Grammy Awards, one Choral Performance Award for a recording of
Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
's ''
Symphony of Psalms
The ''Symphony of Psalms'' is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orch ...
'' in 2007, and another for Best Orchestral Performance for a recording of Mahler's unfinished
Symphony No. 10 in 2000.
The French Government awarded him the honour of
Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
in 2010. Rattle was elected to the inaugural
Gramophone
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
Hall of Fame in 2012.
Personal life
Rattle's first marriage was to Elise Ross, an American soprano, with whom he had two sons: Sacha, who is a clarinettist, and Eliot, who is a painter. They were divorced in 1995 after 15 years of marriage. In 1996, he married his second wife,
Candace Allen, a Boston-born writer. This second marriage ended in 2004, and in 2008 Rattle married the
Czech mezzo-soprano
Magdalena Kožená. The couple live in
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
and have two sons, Jonas (born 2005) and Milos (b. 2008), and a daughter Anežka (b. 2014).
Rattle is a member of the
Incorporated Society of Musicians and a fan of
Liverpool Football Club.
Rattle announced in January 2021 that he had applied for
German citizenship
German nationality law details the conditions by which an individual holds German nationality. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 1 January 1914.
Germany is a member state of the Europ ...
, describing it as "an absolute necessity" for him in order to continue to work freely around the EU after
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAE ...
.
References
Further reading
*
* Kenyon, Nicholas (1987), ''Simon Rattle: The Making of a Conductor'', Faber and Faber. .
* Hartwig, Angela: ''Rattle at the Door – Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic 2002 to 2008'', published by Evrei, 2009, or: Kindle Edition by Amazon,
*
External links
*
Berliner Philharmoniker websiteSimon Rattle Recordings on EMI ClassicsWebsite of the film and education project "Rhythm is it!The Planets micrositeSimon Rattle interviewswith Charlie Rose
*
*
*
ttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/aug/31/europeancapitalofculture2008.classicalmusicandopera Ed Vulliamy, ''Simon Rattle: bringing Berlin home to Liverpool,'' The Observer, 31 August 2008br>
Television Interview with Simon Rattle from C Music TV.theartsdesk Q&A interview, 30 July 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rattle, Simon
Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
English conductors (music)
British male conductors (music)
20th-century British conductors (music)
21st-century British conductors (music)
EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists
Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music
Fellows of St Anne's College, Oxford
Knights Bachelor
Members of the Order of Merit
Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods
People educated at Liverpool College
Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists
Brit Award winners
Grammy Award winners
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Musicians from Liverpool
1955 births
Living people
Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin
Wolf Prize in Arts laureates
Recipients of the Léonie Sonning Music Prize
20th-century English musicians
20th-century male musicians
21st-century British male musicians