The Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma, was the first orchestra in Italy to devote itself exclusively to the symphonic repertoire, giving premieres of major masterpieces of the twentieth century, such as Respighi’s Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome. Founded in 1908, the Orchestra has been conducted by some of the major musical figures of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: from Mahler, Debussy, Strauss, Stravinsky, Toscanini, Furtwängler, Karajan, Bernstein and Abbado, to the most impressive performers of our day including Gergiev, Thielemann, Temirkanov, Bychkov and Kirill Petrenko. The most recent music directors of the orchestra have been Sinopoli, Gatti and Chung. With Sir Antonio Pappano in the role of music director since 2005, the Orchestra has appeared in major European music festivals including the BBC Proms in London, the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival, and has performed in some of the most world’s best-known venues, including the Philharmonie in Berlin, Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Philharmonie in Paris, La Scala in Milan, and Semperoper in Dresden.