Sir Antonio Pappano
Features, videos, recordings and concerts with our Chief Conductor.
Sir Antonio Pappano is our Chief Conductor. He first collaborated with the Orchestra in 1996 at Abbey Road Studios for a recording of Puccini’s opera La rondine, and we have worked together regularly since then.
‘I’ll never forget the first down beat, when the orchestra just exploded with activity and panache and derring-do,’ recalls Pappano. ‘It felt like I’d gotten into a Ferrari and pushed the gas pedal down!’
Sir Antonio Pappano became Music Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2002, a position he held until the end of the 2023/24 season, and was Music Director of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome between 2005 and 2023. In 2012 he was made a Knight of the British Empire for his services to music, and in 2015 he was named the 100th recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal, the body’s highest honour.
News & Stories
Sir Antonio Pappano: The 2023/24 Season
‘I worked with the LSO for the first time in 1996, at Abbey Road Studios, to record an opera. I’ll never forget the first down beat, when the orchestra just exploded with activity and panache and derring-do. It felt like I’d gotten into a Ferrari and pushed the gas pedal down!’
Press Release: LSO appoints Sir Antonio Pappano as Chief Conductor
Obituary: Kurt-Hans Goedicke, 1935-2025
The LSO is saddened to hear of the passing of Kurt-Hans Goedicke, former Principal Timpani.
Obituary: Terence Johns, 1944-2025
The London Symphony Orchestra is saddened to hear of the passing of Terence Johns, former Assistant Principal Horn.
Obituary: Brian Clarke 1933-2025
The London Symphony Orchestra is saddened to hear of the passing of Brian Clarke, former Co-Principal Viola.
Obituary: Boris Claudio 'Lalo' Schifrin, 1932–2025
The London Symphony Orchestra is deeply saddened by the passing of the legendary composer, conductor, and pianist Boris Claudio ‘Lalo’ Schifrin.
Videos
Concerts
Recordings
Reviews
‘I can’t remember hearing [Britten’s War Requiem] make so powerful an impact as it did in this stupendous Prom performance conducted by Antonio Pappano … the London Symphony Orchestra played with phenomenal virtuosity.’
★★★★★ Richard Morrison, The Times, Aug 2024
‘Pappano leads the LSO with terrifying finesse for Coleridge-Taylor, Strauss and Liszt works, in anticipation of his new role as chief conductor in 2024.’ ★★★★ The Guardian, Feb 2023
‘Pappano brought to this irresistible epic simply everything: invaluable detail, supercharged rhythms, precipitous drama, a larger-than-life tale gloriously paced and fabulously played. If this is the LSO’s future, bring it on.’ ★★★★★ inews, Feb 2023
