For Simon Rattle there is no question that Haydn’s Creation contains everything. The whole world. It looks both towards the past and far into the future of everything music can be. It is balance and revolution at the same time – a true work of the Enlightenment. "Magnificent choruses, graceful melodies, the finest polyphony, all firmly anchored in an optimistic view of humanity – anyone who doesn't automatically feel better after hearing it really needs help," says Simon Rattle with a wink.

"The Creation is healthy in a very honest way," he adds. But health also includes a good dose of humour, and Haydn provides it, even in a setting as sacred as the Creation story. At the same time, a work radiating light also casts a few shadows on our own present. What has remained of the spirit of the Enlightenment? And what have we done with "this world, so great, so wonderful"?

To mark his inauguration as Chief Conductor of the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle chose Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Creation. After two concerts on 21 and 22 September 2023 in Munich's Herkulessaal, the work was performed on 24 September in the historic basilica of Ottobeuren in Upper Swabia, together with the three outstanding soloists: Lucy Crowe (soprano), Benjamin Bruns (tenor) and Christian Gerhaher (baritone). The Munich recording of the inaugural concerts is now being released on 2 CDs by BR-KLASSIK.