Sir Antonio Pappano, Beatrice Rana and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe

On the podium, Sir Antonio Pappano has been described as a conductor "who tackles matters in a hands-on manner, until an orchestra is able to absorb his theatrical impetus and begins to fly" (Der Tagesspiegel). The musician, who was born in Epping, near London, is also notable for the fact that his tenures as musical director generally span many years. He is a cosmopolitan man, slipping fluidly between German, English and Italian in interviews, Since 2002, he has been Music Director of London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. From 2005 to 2023, he also led the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, making many award-winning recordings. At the end of the current season, he will step down from his position at Covent Garden to succeed Sir Simon Rattle as Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in 2024/25. Antonio Pappano, who studied piano, composition and conducting in the USA and also appears as a piano accompanist on the international stage, makes regular guest appearances at leading opera houses and with top international orchestras. In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II appointed him to the peerage, and in the same year he was appointed "Cavaliere di Gran Croce" of the Italian Republic for his musical contributions. The Royal Philharmonic Society in London awarded Antonio Pappano its highest honor, the RPS Gold Medal.

Beatrice Rana is enjoys a reputation as one of the great talents of today’s young pianists. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, she seems to draw her audience effortlessly into "a state of tense concentration, especially in the quiet moments" - with a "stupendous technique that produces one aural intoxication after another, with economy of movement and an almost uninvolved facial expression". After her acclaimed debut at Carnegie Hall in March 2019, the New York Times praised the "bel canto grace" of her phrasing. And indeed - according to the Italian - her playing shows a lot of the "concept of bel canto" because, she says, "it is part of my culture and my background". Beatrice Rana, who studied with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover and with her mentor Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, among others, has won many international prizes, including at the Arturo Benedetti-Michelangeli and Van Cliburn competitions. She now performs in the major music centers and with all leading orchestras. In 2017, in her hometown of Lecce, she founded her own chamber music festival, "Classiche Forme". In addition, Beatrice Rana became artistic director of the Orchestra Filarmonica di Benevento in 2020. She will make her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker as the soloist in Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto in May, 2024.