The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia) is an Italian symphony orchestra based in Rome. Resident at the Parco della Musica, the orchestra primarily performs its Rome concerts in the Sala Santa Cecilia.

History

The orchestra was founded in 1908 as the first Italian orchestra to devote itself exclusively to

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

repertoire. Bernardino Molinari was the orchestra's first music director, serving from 1912 to 1944. Subsequent music directors included Franco Ferrara (1944–1945),

Fernando Previtali Fernando Previtali (16 February 1907 Adria, Italy – 1 August 1985, Rome, Italy) was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially Verdi operas. He studied at the Giuseppe Verdi Music Conservatory in Tu ...

(1953–1973), and Igor Markevitch (1973–1975). The orchestra was noted for its recordings of Italian opera for the Decca label with such singers such as

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, San Carlo and, especially, the Metropolitan Opera. O ...

and

Carlo Bergonzi Carlo Bergonzi may refer to: * Carlo Bergonzi (luthier) (1683–1747), Italian luthier * Carlo Bergonzi (tenor) Carlo Bergonzi (13 July 1924 – 25 July 2014) was an Italian operatic tenor. Although he performed and recorded some bel canto and ...

under Tullio Serafin. Thomas Schippers had been named the next music director to succeed Markevitch, but Schippers died in December 1977 before he could formally assume the post. The music directorship of the orchestra remained vacant until 1983, with the advent of

Giuseppe Sinopoli Giuseppe Sinopoli (; 2 November 1946 – 21 April 2001) was an Italian conductor and composer. Biography Sinopoli was born in Venice, Italy, and later studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice under Ernesto Rubin de Cervin ...

as music director. Sinopoli assisted in restoring the fortunes of the orchestra, and expanded the orchestra's repertoire to include Mahler and Bruckner.

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

was the honorary president of the orchestra from 1983 until 1990. Antonio Pappano became the orchestra's music director in 2005. With Pappano, the orchestra has recorded commercially for EMI. He is scheduled to conclude his tenure as music director of the orchestra in 2023 and subsequently to take the title of conductor emeritus. Currently, Yuri Temirkanov has the title of honorary conductor of the orchestra. In July 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Jakub Hrůša as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2021-2022 season, with an initial contract of 3 seasons.

Music directors

* Bernardino Molinari (1912–1944) * Franco Ferrara (1944–1945) *

(1953–1973) * Igor Markevitch (1973–1975) *

(1983–1987) * Daniele Gatti (1992–1997) * Myung-Whun Chung (1997–2005) * Antonio Pappano (2005–present)

Notes

External links

Official Italian-language website of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
* * {{Authority control Italian orchestras Musical groups established in 1908 Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia 1908 establishments in Italy