The first time Rattle conducted the Berlin Philharmonic (BPO) was in 1987 when he gave a performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6. In 1999 Rattle was made chief conductor of the orchestra when Claudio Abbado left. Before he agreed to take the job he insisted on making some changes to make sure that all the orchestral members were paid fairly and that the orchestra could make its own decisions instead of having to do what the Berlin Senate told them.