In Depth
On his background in the opera house.
‘My work as an opera conductor over many years has, no question, influenced the way I approach music. I try to find the drama in any kind of music. The story doesn’t have to be specific, it can be in the imagination of the listener. Some music has a very clear programme, but you need to be able to translate that into sound and make it evocative, like the greatest film music.
Being on the concert platform is perhaps a purer experience [than conducting opera]. You’re dealing with just the music, and it’s as if you’re looking in the mirror and you’re being asked by your inner-self. There are no words, no costumes, no theatre, it’s just the music. How can you translate that to the audience? I think for me, that’s the experience that I want to deepen over the next few years, and this is why the relationship with the LSO is so important.’
I try to find the drama in any kind of music.
On the essential qualities for a great conductor.
‘A great conductor is someone who can do the technical work necessary with a group of musicians but is also the best kind of teacher; somebody who helps you to think and make connections to many different things, but also inspires you to give your best.
You have to keep surprising your audiences and your musicians, and that keeps everything very fresh and exciting. In the rehearsal room, you have to be passionate, but you also have to trust your musicians, and you have to be specific about what you want.’
On the relationship between a conductor and an orchestra.
‘The relationship between a conductor and an orchestra is based on mutual respect, honesty, past experiences, a sense of responsibility towards the audiences that we’re performing for, and a sense of responsibility towards the music.
We have something very precious in our hands. We have something that is a historical artifact, or it could be a new piece of music, where we have to be the best salespeople for that piece of music, so it’s a huge honour to do what we do. But it’s something that together in collaboration – conductor and orchestra – we have to share that sense of mission as performers, teachers and salespeople.
A concert should be a visceral experience. It should be an emotional experience for the person who’s paid money to come and see that concert. When that music is delivered and it hits the listener, that is something that should be felt in the pit of their stomach.’
Sir Antonio Pappano conducting the London Symphony Orchestra
On following his passion for music.
‘I was very, very lucky that, at the age of twelve, I knew that music was going to be my life. Having Italian parents, growing up in England, moving to America as a teenager, speaking French and German … Those parts of me speak every day, whether I’m in front of the London Symphony Orchestra or preparing an opera with all German or Italian singers. You have to be the best of who you are, but you have to be specifically who you are.’
On working with the LSO.
‘I’m going to be putting a very strong accent on British music with LSO, especially at the beginning of my tenure as Chief Conductor, but in contrast or in tandem with pieces with which I have a relationship, or pieces that are influenced by (or have influenced) British music in the past.
I think I have a certain responsibility, as Chief Conductor, to touch many different kinds of repertoire. Having the background that I do, of course I will do English music, but I will also do American music, Italian music, and will continue to conduct opera in concert form.
The London Symphony Orchestra has a very special motor. Something that’s related to the amount of energy, excitement, and sheer communicability of whatever they touch. They’re explosive in their expressive nature. This, together with their emotional intelligence – their ability to take just a few suggestions and turn it into something that is complex and deeply human – is something for me that I haven’t experienced (to the degree that I experience it with the LSO) with any other orchestra. I am hoping to focus that energy and that excitement in different areas of the repertoire.’
Pappano highlights
In Concert
Britten, Bernstein and Tchaikovsky
Sir Antonio Pappano and Denis Kozhukhin
Sunday 10 May 2026 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO and pianist Denis Kozhukhin navigate beauty, grief, and turmoil with Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem, Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety, and Tchaikovsky’s haunting Pathétique. NB: Change of Artist.
Half Six Fix: Enigma Variations
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 10 June 2026 • 6.30pm
Sir Antonio Pappano guides the audience through Elgar's 'Enigma' Variations, exploring its tender portraits of family members and the unsolved mystery at its core.
Elgar and Mahler
Sir Antonio Pappano
Thursday 11 June 2026 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO journey from darkness to light in Mahler's rapturous Fifth Symphony, alongside Elgar's Enigma Variations.
Wagner: Tristan and Isolde
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 1 July 2026 • 5pm
Sir Antonio Pappano leads world-class soloists and the LSO in one of the greatest and most intense of operatic love stories – Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.
Limited Tickets
Wagner: Tristan and Isolde
Sir Antonio Pappano
Sunday 12 July 2026 • 5pm
Sir Antonio Pappano leads world-class soloists and the LSO in one of the greatest and most intense of operatic love stories – Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.
Limited Tickets
Season Opening: Mahler 2 and Fujikura
Sir Antonio Pappano
Sunday 18 October 2026 • 7pm
A celebratory new work to launch the LSO’s 2026/27 season, and an epic voyage from the depths of despair to glorious rebirth. Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the UK premiere of Dai Fujikura's Amber Alchemy, and Mahler's colossal 'Resurrection' Symphony.
Half Six Fix: Bruckner 9
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 21 October 2026 • 6.30pm
Kick-start your evening with this 60-minute Half Six Fix concert. Sir Antonio Pappano introduces and conducts Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, a piece that contrasts epic walls of sound with moments of aching fragility.
Mahler 2 and Fujikura
Sir Antonio Pappano
Thursday 22 October 2026 • 7pm
A celebratory new work to launch the LSO’s 2026/27 season, and an epic voyage from the depths of despair to glorious rebirth. Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the UK premiere of Dai Fujikura's Amber Alchemy, and Mahler's colossal 'Resurrection' Symphony.
Edmund Finnis and Bruckner
Sir Antonio Pappano and Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Sunday 25 October 2026 • 7pm
The quiet intensity of Edmund Finnis’ Cello Concerto, featuring soloist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, paves the way for Bruckner’s monumental, visionary Ninth Symphony.
Tchaikovsky, Kendall and Liadov
Sir Antonio Pappano and Fleur Barron
Thursday 29 October 2026 • 7pm
Liadov conjures magical landscapes while Tchaikovsky navigates anguish and triumph in his Fifth Symphony – plus the premiere of Hannah Kendall’s eagerly anticipated new work. Sir Antonio Pappano conducts, joined by mezzo-soprano Fleur Barron.
Half Six Fix: Vaughan Williams 8
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 25 November 2026 • 6.30pm
Sir Antonio Pappano explores Vaughan Williams’ ‘Pastoral’ Symphony and Symphony No 8, from wartime reflection to a playful, uplifting British classic.
Sir Antonio Pappano and Bruce Liu
Sir Antonio Pappano and Bruce Liu
Thursday 26 November 2026 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano continues his acclaimed Vaughan Williams cycle with Symphonies 3 and 8, and is joined by Bruce Liu for Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3.
Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Dubugnon
Sir Antonio Pappano and Janine Jansen
Sunday 29 November 2026 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano leads Sibelius, Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia antartica and Dubugnon’s new violin concerto in a vivid, cinematic programme with Janine Jansen.
Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Dubugnon
Sir Antonio Pappano and Janine Jansen
Thursday 3 December 2026 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano leads Sibelius, Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia antartica and Dubugnon’s new violin concerto in a vivid, cinematic programme with Janine Jansen.
Elgar and Tchaikovsky
Sir Antonio Pappano and Alisa Weilerstein
Thursday 18 February 2027 • 7pm
Two of classical music’s most heart-rending works – Elgar’s intimate, introspective Cello Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s intense, emotional Fifth Symphony – with Sir Antonio Pappano and soloist Alisa Weilerstein.
Beethoven and Shostakovich
Sir Antonio Pappano and Maxim Vengerov
Sunday 21 February 2027 • 7pm
Violinist Maxim Vengerov brings elegance and majesty to Beethoven's Violin Concerto, before the unrelenting and colossal power of Shostakovich’s war-scarred Eighth Symphony.
Half Six Fix: Shostakovich 8
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 17 March 2027 • 6.30pm
Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix concert. The LSO’s Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano presents one of Shostakovich’s darkest symphonies, reflecting the stark brutality of war.
Half Six Fix: Scriabin 4
Sir Antonio Pappano
Wednesday 5 May 2027 • 6.30pm
Kick-start your evening with a 60-minute Half Six Fix Concert. Sir Antonio Pappano conducts and introduces Scriabin's The Poem of Ecstasy, with screens in the hall to bring you closer to the action.
Chausson, Foccroulle and Scriabin
Sir Antonio Pappano, Stéphane Degout and Sasha Cooke
Thursday 6 May 2027 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano conducts Scriabin’s metaphysical Poem of Ecstasy, alongside a new work from Bernard Foccroulle and an oceanic tone poem by Chausson.
Verdi: La traviata
Sir Antonio Pappano
Saturday 29 May 2027 • 7pm
Sir Antonio Pappano returns for more dazzling opera-in-concert at the Barbican, this time with one of Verdi's most heartfelt masterpieces.
Images © Mark Allan
