The 2025/2026 Concert Season opens with Richard Wagner's “Die Walküre” conducted by Daniel Harding and features major returns, excellent debuts and international tours.
By Rosalba Panzieri
The 2025/2026 Concert Season of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia opens under the sign of a double challenge. On the one hand, an ambitious program schedule full of musical surprises, combining the great symphonic tradition with the exploration towards new artistic horizons; on the other hand, the transformation of the Sala Santa Cecilia, which is preparing to change its face, on the occasion of its inauguration, no longer just a frame but a real stage space, co-protagonist of the musical life of the Institution. It will be an epic season between Wagner, Mahler and new visions. The year 2025 also marked the appointment to the presidency of Massimo Biscardi, who will lead the Institution in this new phase, keeping the founding values firm and projecting the Academy toward new challenges.
The return of the Ring to Rome: a historic event
Die Walküre kicks off the new season of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and, at the same time, a monumental project: the complete performance of Wagner's Tetralogy “Der Ring des Nibelungen” in stage form, conducted by Daniel Harding. An undertaking that will run through four seasons, opening each year with one of the works in the cycle: Die Walküre (2025/2026), Siegfried (2026/2027), Götterdämmerung (2027/2028) and Das Rheingold (2028/2029).
The last stage performance of the Ring in the capital was in 1961, making this new production a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. The Academy had already offered the cycle between 1988 and 1991 under the direction of Giuseppe Sinopoli, but in concert form. Now, for the first time in its history, the Ring will be staged with direction, set design and costumes. The opening is scheduled for Oct. 23, 25 and 27, 2025 with Die Walküre, performed by an international cast of acclaimed Wagnerians-Michael Volle, Miina-Liisa Värelä, Vida Miknevičiūtė, Jamez McCorkle and others. It is directed by Vincent Huguet, set design by Pierre Yovanovitch, costumes by Edoardo Russo in collaboration with Tirelli Trappetti Costumi, and light design by Christophe Forey.
A season with an international scope
The 2025/2026 symphonic season is distinguished by its international focus, not only by the presence of conductors and soloists from around the world, but also by the Academy's intense activity abroad. Daniel Harding, in his second season as Music Director, will lead the Orchestra and Chorus in eight productions and three international tours, including a major Asian tour with young pianist Yunchan Lim, winner of the Van Cliburn, which will touch Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, and Shanghai.
The season moves between tradition, innovation and new commissions. Classic, present, eternal, as the claim of the Season, is an expression that encapsulates the spirit with which the Academy continues to expand, day after day, its history. A history that renews itself, looking to the future without ever forgetting its traditions. Indeed, along with such timeless masterpieces as the Messiah by Händel, Mahler's or Beethoven's Symphonies, the programming also gives space to today's music, with the return of John Adams to the podium of Santa Cecilia, and with premieres such as the new commission to Fabio Vacchi All in all, entrusted to Daniel Harding.
Thus, giants such as Myung-Whun Chung, Tugan Sokhiev, Semyon Bychkov, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniele Gatti and Jakub Hrusa will take turns on the podium, joined by new batons such as Petr Popelka, Joana Mallwitz and Cristian Mačelaru.
Highlights include the Mahler cycle with the Third and Fourth Symphonies, Haydn's The Creation, two Brahmsian concertos with Daniil Trifonov and Igor Levit, and the return of Antonio Pappano with Bruckner and Šostakovič's “Grosse Messe” with Leonidas Kavakos. Teodor Currentzis, Charles Dutoit and Riccardo Minasi make their debuts, while Sheku Kanneh-Mason will play Elgar with Lorenzo Viotti on the podium.
The chamber season: twenty appointments of excellence
With twenty concerts, the Chamber Season confirms itself as the flagship of Rome's musical life. It opens on November 1 with Lisa Batiashvili, Gautier Capuçon and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and continues with Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski, a tribute to Alessandro Scarlatti, and a tribute to Luciano Berio on the centenary of his birth.
Space is given to the Baroque with Antonio Florio and Rosa Feola, and to the integral project of Beethoven's Quartets with the Quatuor Ébène, culminating in 2027. Vocal stars include Asmik Grigorian with a recital dedicated to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. Christophe Rousset will conduct Händel's Messiah with the English Baroque Soloists and the Monteverdi Choir.
The chamber season will host performers of the highest profile: Isabelle Faust, Kian Soltani, András Schiff, Beatrice Rana, Grigory Sokolov, Víkingur Ólafsson, Arcadi Volodos and Lang Lang Lang, who will close the season at the end of May. A calendar that celebrates the meeting of generations and traditions in the name of quality and originality.
An invitation to the international audience
With programming that combines artistic excellence from around the world, stage productions with a European scope and tours to major international music centers, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia confirms itself as a global reference point for classical music. Rome once again becomes a crossroads of cultures, sounds and visions. This extraordinary season is designed to meet the needs of an international audience through a musical journey that speaks all languages, but finds its most authentic voice in the Sala Santa Cecilia.
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