Rattle dirige Bach

Freiburger Barockorchester (Freiburg Baroque Orchestra) is an orchestra originally founded 'to enliven the world of Baroque music with new sounds.' The orchestra, based in Freiburg, Germany now also performs works by later composers such as Beethoven, Schubert and Weber as well as contemporary music. They play small group chamber music as well as symphonies for large orchestras.

The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra gave its first concert in 1987 and began touring abroad with a performance in Amsterdam in 1989 and came to America first in 1995. Today, half of the orchestra's concerts are performed abroad. The musicians chose Gottfried von der Goltz and Petra Müllejans from among their own members as musical directors. (Both von der Goltz and Müllejans are violinists.) The orchestra performs one‐quarter of its concerts under guest conductors, such as Ivor Bolton, René Jacobs, Philippe Herreweghe or Trevor Pinnock.

Simon Rattle commence ses études musicales par le piano et le violon mais occupe un premier emploi de musicien d'orchestre comme percussionniste. En 1971, il entre à la Royal Academy of Music de Londres où il dirige fréquemment. En 1974, l'année de son diplôme, il remporte le Concours de chef d'orchestre John‐Player (John Player Conducting Competition). Après avoir monté et conduit une remarquable Deuxième Symphonie de Mahler alors qu'il est encore à l'Académie, il est remarqué par l'agent musical Martin Campell‐White, qui gère depuis sa carrière.