From the principal's desk: Alessandro Carbonare, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Returning to conduct Rome’s Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia this November, John Adams reflects on the situation of music in the US – and why he has so often been labelled a ‘political’ composer.

The US violinist talks about his love for Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, ahead of concerts with Daniel Harding and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

As he prepares to leave Covent Garden, Antonio Pappano reflects on his time at the helm of The Royal Opera and the Santa Cecilia, the state of the opera industry and on “reinventing himself” at the LSO. 

Giulio Prandi, conductor of Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri, and violinist and concertmaster Gabriele Pro talk about crossing borders, adopting shared sensibilities, and the challenges facing historically informed musicians in Italy today.

Erkki-Sven Tüür talks about making sanctuary on Hiiumaa, a wild island to Estonia’s west, and his interest in writing concertos, seen “through the eyes of someone who observes the world very closely”.

The Toronto-born composer talks about new work Romanza for piano and orchestra, theatricality in music, taking influences from psychology, and the effect on his music of working for the United Nations.