Simon Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic To Tour US

MELISSA EDDY

BERLIN (AP) — Sir Simon Rattle's new contract with the Berlin Philharmonic is just days old but already he's looking ahead — to the orchestra's coast-to-coast tour U.S. tour starting this week, and to the role that classical music can and will play in 21st century society.

Rattle and the 128 members of the Berlin Philharmonic depart Monday for a seven-stop U.S. tour that will take them from New York and Boston to Ann Arbor, Michigan and Chicago, before wrapping up in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Unlike on previous tours, ticket sales have been sluggish this year, a problem that reflects the ongoing economic crisis as well as the challenges classical music faces in today's world.

"We really have to carry on," said Rattle, who since taking over as principle conductor in 2002 has reorganized the orchestra into a foundation run by the musicians and extended the reach of its music through education programs and state-of-the art distribution.

"We have to carry on what we are doing, which is also to discover what an orchestra is in the 21st century, how it lives within its community, how it deals with new music, how it deals with old music."