The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia unveils a sweeping 2025–26 season under the artistic leadership of Daniel Harding, with Antonio Pappano as conductor emeritus and Andrea Secchi as chorusmaster. From a new Die Walküre to high-profile soloists like Yunchan Lim, Gil Shaham, Lang Lang, and Beatrice Rana, the season promises a bold range of repertoire spanning centuries and continents.
At the heart of the symphonic calendar is a new semi-staged production of Wagner’s Die Walküre, opening the season in October with Harding on the podium and Vincent Huguet directing. The cast includes Michael Volle (Wotan), Miina-Liisa Värelä (Brünnhilde), Vida Miknevičiūtė (Sieglinde), and Jamez McCorkle (Siegmund).
In a major return, Antonio Pappano conducts Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony and Bruckner’s Mass No. 3, followed by John Adams leading his own Short Ride in a Fast Machine and scenes from Nixon in China, paired with Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite.
Harding conducts a series of cornerstone programs throughout the year, including:
- Yunchan Lim in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G
- Mahler’s Symphony No. 3
- Haydn’s The Creation
- Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Daniil Trifonov
- A world premiere by Fabio Vacchi, Il tutto in tutti, alongside Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration and the final scene of Salome
- The Italian premiere of Alexey Shor’s Violin Concerto No. 7 with Gil Shaham
Also appearing this season are:
- Yuja Wang in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2, conducted by Teodor Currentzis, alongside Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 “Babi Yar”
- Igor Levit in Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1
- Emanuel Ax in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22, conducted by Semyon Bychkov
- Leonidas Kavakos in Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1, with Pappano
- Sheku Kanneh-Mason in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, led by Lorenzo Viotti
- Augustin Hadelich, Behzod Abduraimov, Seong-Jin Cho, and many others
The season also features large-scale vocal works including:
- Mahler’s Symphony No. 3
- Fauré’s Requiem
- Haydn’s The Creation
- Verdi’s Requiem, conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
- Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, led by Charles Dutoit
- Bach’s St Matthew Passion under Riccardo Minasi
The Chamber Music season brings a rich mix of international soloists and ensembles. Highlights include:
- Lisa Batiashvili, Gautier Capuçon, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet
- András Schiff in a carte blanche recital
- Beatrice Rana, Lang Lang, Grigory Sokolov, and Arcadi Volodos in solo appearances
- Song recitals by Asmik Grigorian, and Vikingur Ólafsson, plus lieder programs from Golda Schultz and others
- Ensembles such as the Monteverdi Choir, Utopia Orchestra, and Quatuor Ébène
All concerts take place at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone in Rome, across Santa Cecilia and Sinopoli Halls.
For the full calendar, subscription packages, and ticket information, visit the official website.
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