‘I feel enormously privileged to be starting the 2023/24 season as Chief Conductor Designate with the LSO. For a conductor, this is a dream position. I’m really very, very excited indeed.
So you come in with a whole raft of ideas and ‘no, we just did that’, ‘no, we’re doing that next year’ – there’s a lot of that. And then you find a groove and you find your repertoire. And what that means for me is many things, actually. From the person I am – I was born in England, grew up here until I was 13, moved to the States, Italian heritage, studied French, learned German, and have been in the opera field for many, many years – I have a lot of threads that are pulling at me, whether they be dramaturgical or musical or cultural. I think that you have to tap into these things, because that’s what will ultimately define you. It’s not about finding the next new thing for me. I want to do things that I really, really love – and, the hope is, that the Orchestra will really love with me.
I worked with the LSO for the first time in 1996, at Abbey Road Studio Number One. We were recording an opera. I’ll never forget putting down the first downbeat, and the Orchestra just exploding with activity and panache and derring-do. I thought I’d just gotten into a Ferrari and pushed the gas pedal down.
But it’s more than that. There’s an emotional intelligence that the Orchestra has. Two words from the conductor of guidance, explanation, and they’re off. They know exactly what the job is. I think this combination of virtuosity and intuitiveness – and, of course, incredible musicality, the incredible musicality of each member – put those ingredients together and you have something that is very, very special. And justly recognised in the world as so.
I’ve always had a very close relationship since then with the Orchestra. But I want that relationship to deepen. They know me very well. But I would like them to get to know different parts of me. And I hope I surprise them. I know they’ll surprise me, that’s for sure. Because they have that ability that they can do anything.
And hopefully, without talking too much, but just by giving hints, I can maybe get everybody to understand how I think and how I believe the journey going forward will look, and that we can share that together. And of course, eventually and inevitably, it’s the choice of repertoire that will excite them. But it’s also the way we perform that repertoire. The hope is that through the number of concerts in London and elsewhere on tour and throughout the world (because let’s not forget, the LSO is one of the major touring orchestras), that we can forge a personality that is really recognised as a personality, and not just a decent conductor conducting a great orchestra. This is my great hope, that we forge something that is identifiable as a brand.’
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Explore: More from Pappano
Features, videos, concerts and recordings.
Read: The 2023/24 Season with Pappano
Watch: Pappano conducts Strauss
2024/25 Concerts with Pappano
Puccini La rondine
Sir Antonio Pappano
Tuesday 10 December 2024 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano conducts a concert performance of La rondine, Puccini’s story of love thwarted by society’s conventions, an opera glowing with melody and orchestral colour.
Puccini La rondine
Sir Antonio Pappano
Thursday 12 December 2024 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano conducts a concert performance of La rondine, Puccini’s story of love thwarted by society’s conventions, an opera glowing with melody and orchestral colour.
Elgar and Vaughan Williams 9
Sir Antonio Pappano and David Cohen
Sunday 15 December 2024 • 7pm
Two reflective works from Ralph Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar, plus Arnold Bax’s evocative portrait of the Cornish countryside. Sir Antonio Pappano is joined by David Cohen, LSO Principal Cello, for Elgar's Cello Concerto.
Limited Tickets
Christmas Swing: Gershwin, Bernstein and Tchaikovsky
Sir Antonio Pappano and Frank Dupree
Wednesday 18 December 2024 • 7pm
Classical meets jazz with some festive favourites – plus a riotous ride with Kapustin, Gershwin’s most swinging tunes, and Bernstein at his exuberant best. Sir Antonio Pappano is joined by pianist Frank Dupree and the LSO's own Sérgio Pires.
Christmas Swing: Gershwin, Bernstein and Tchaikovsky
Sir Antonio Pappano and Frank Dupree
Thursday 19 December 2024 • 7pm
Classical meets jazz with some festive favourites – plus a riotous ride with Kapustin, Gershwin’s most swinging tunes, and Bernstein at his exuberant best. Sir Antonio Pappano is joined by pianist Frank Dupree and the LSO's own Sérgio Pires.
Half Six Fix: Walton
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 5 February 2025 • 6.30pm
Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix concert, introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
Walker, Bernstein and Walton 1
Sir Antonio Pappano and Janine Jansen
Thursday 6 February 2025 • 7pm
Walton’s turbulent first Symphony, and a pair of passionate statements of love and outrage from two American greats. Sir Antonio Pappano conducts, joined by violinist Janine Jansen.
Maconchy, Walton and Vaughan Williams 1
Sir Antonio Pappano and Rebecca Gilliver
Sunday 9 February 2025 • 7pm
Evocative portraits of night and the sea in an all-British programme: enigmatic Maconchy, meditative Walton, and awe-inspiring Vaughan Williams, in his 'Sea Symphony'.
Half Six Fix: Vaughan Williams
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 12 February 2025 • 6.30pm
Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix concert, focused on Vaughan Williams' 'Sea Symphony'. Introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
Wynton Marsalis' 'The Jungle'
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Saturday 15 March 2025 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO blend jazz, blues and classical music in a crossover collaboration with JLCO, performing Wynton Marsalis' wild musical portrait of New York.
Beethoven 'Choral' Symphony
Sir Antonio Pappano
Sunday 23 March 2025 • 7pm
Tippett’s moving pacifist oratorio, A Child of Our Time, meets Beethoven’s immense ‘Choral’ symphony – 200 years after its premiere.
Half Six Fix: Berlioz
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 21 May 2025 • 6.30pm
Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix concert, delving into the musical imagination of Hector Berlioz. Introduced by the performers, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
