The Orchestra

The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia was the first orchestra in Italy to devote itself exclusively to the symphonic repertoire, giving premieres of major masterpieces of the 1900, such as Respighi’s Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome. Founded in 1908, the Orchestra has been conducted by some of the major musical figures of the 20th century: from Mahler, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Strauss, Stravinsky, Sibelius, Hindemith, Toscanini, Furtwängler, De Sabata, Karajan and Abbado to the most impressive performers of our day including Gergiev, Thielemann, Dudamel, Temirkanov while  its Music Directors have been Bernardino Molinari, Franco Ferrara, Fernando Previtali, Igor Markevitch, Thomas Schippers, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Daniele Gatti, Myung-Whun Chung and, from 2005 to 2023, Sir Antonio Pappano.

As of the 2024/2025 season, British conductor Daniel Harding becomes the new Music Director.

From 1983 to 1990, Leonard Bernstein served as its Honorary President.

The Orchestra has performed at major international festivals—including the BBC Proms in London, the Lucerne Festival, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, and the Salzburg Festival. It has also appeared in the world’s most prestigious concert halls: the Berlin Philharmonie, Semperoper in Dresden, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Royal Albert Hall in London, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, La Scala in Milan, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and Carnegie Hall in New York.

In March 2024, the Orchestra and Chorus were the ensemble in residence at the prestigious Salzburg Easter Festival.

After long-term collaboration with some of the biggest international record labels who have produced recordings that have since become legendary, Santa Cecilia Orchestra records extensively for Warner Classic. The releases, under Pappano, include Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (with Angela Gheorghiu; the recording won a Brit Award), Verdi’s Requiem (Gramophone Award, BBC Music Magazine, Brit Classical), Rossini’s and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Anna Netrebko (Gramophone Editors’ Choice Award), Rossini’s William Tell, Mahler’s Symphony no.6, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Verdi’s Quattro pezzi sacri, Britten’s War Requiem, and a CD entitled Rossini Overtures. Recently recorded, Verdi’s Aida boasts a stellar cast (Anja Harteros, Jonas Kaufmann, Erwin Schrott) and has taken home numerous awards: Best Recording 2015 for The New York Times and for The Telegraph, Best opera 2015 – Apple Music, Choc Classica de l’année, Diapason D’or and Choix de France Musique, Record of the month for Gramophone, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. A CD also came out in 2015, with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no. 1 and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto no. 2 performed by Beatrice Rana, Brahms’s Violin Concerto with Janine Jansen (Decca) and Schumann’s Piano Concerto performed by Jan Lisiecki (DGG).

Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra also recorded Nessun Dorma, The Puccini Album with tenor Jonas Kaufmann (Best Classical Music Recordings of 2015 for The New York Times), which made the world charts, Schumann’s Symphonies no. 2 and no. 4, Elgar’s Symphony no. 1 (ICA Classics), the cd “Anna Netrebko. Verismo” (DGG), Le Carnaval des Animaux with Martha Argerich, the Bernstein’s Symphonies (Warner Classics), Verdi’s Otello with Jonas Kaufmann (Sony Classical), Tudor Queens with Diana Damrau (Warner Classics) and Strauss: Ein Heldenleben/Burleske with Bertrand Chamayou (Warner Classics).

Among the recordings Turandot by Puccini, Messa di Gloria by Rossini (Warner Classics), Cinema with Alexandre Tharaud (Erato) and Insieme – Opera Duets (Sony Classical) with Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier.

The 2025 recording of Puccini’s Tosca (Deutsche Grammophon), conducted by Daniel Harding, features Eleonora Buratto, Jonathan Tetelman, and Ludovic Tézier.

*Concertino