Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra was the first one in Italy to devote itself exclusively to the symphonic repertoire, promoting the premieres of important 20th century masterworks (including Fontane and Pini di Roma by Respighi). It has performed about 14,000 concerts, collaborating with the major musical figures of the century, and has been conducted by Mahler, Debussy, Strauss, Stravinsky, Hindemith, Toscanini, Furtwangler, De Sabata and Karajan, among others. From 1983 to 1990, Leonard Bernstein was its Honorary President. Following Myung-Whun Chung’s lengthy tenure as principal conductor from 1997 to 2005, (Maestro Chun also led the Orchestra on the occasion of its move to the new Auditorium), Antonio Pappano took the helm as Music Director beginning in October 2005.

During the traditional concert seasons, the Orchestra (often supported by the Chorus), takes on the great symphonic-choral works from a repertoire ranging from the 18th century to modern times. In addition, it is regularly invited to the most prominent musical institutions in the world.

Among the Orchestra’s most noteworthy engagements are appearances at the White Nights Festival of Saint Petersburg and the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the PROMS (the first Italian orchestra ever invited to the prestigious London festival). With Myung-Whun Chung. the Orchestra has performed in Spain, Portugal and Belgium; it triumphed at the Royal Festival Hall, London in November 1999, and has made numerous tours in the Far East (in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001). Besides annual engagements with the most important Italian music festivals (from Settembre Musica in Turin to the Sagra Malatestiana in Rimini, to the Settimana Musicale in Siena), in 2001 it was the first Italian orchestra to appear as a guest in Philharmonic Hall, Berlin – the historic home of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Subsequently, it took part in the Istanbul Music Festival and the Santander Festival in Spain, and undertook a long tour in Japan as part of the “Italy in Japan” exposition. More recently, the Orchestra has appeared at the Autumn Festival in Valencia and at the Enescu Festival in Bucarest. In 2003 it participated in the celebrations for the re-opening of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, and in 2005 it returned to the White Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg, where it enjoyed a resounding success with audiences. The international debut of the Orchestra with Antonio Pappano took place in June 2006 with a triumphal concert at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele.

In the last few years, the Orchestra has also been busily recording: among the numerous discs realised with major recording companies the following must be highlighted: a series of CDs conducted by Chung devoted to sacred music in celebration of the Jubilee Year; a Te Deum CD with works by Charpentier, Mozart and Part; a CD dedicated to sacred music by Giuseppe Verdi, with Carmela Remigio, and the Misa Tango by Bacalov that earned a Grammy Award nomination and a collection of symphonies from Italian operas. The latest two recordings of the Orchestra, which are the first with Antonio Pappano, are dedicated to Tchaikovsky (EMI).

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