Founded in 1908, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia became the first orchestra in Italy devoted to concert repertoire rather than opera. Almost instantly it became the go-to ensemble for orchestral composers, giving premieres of Respighi’s Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome and performing under composer/conductors such as Mahler, Strauss, and Stravinsky. Midcentury it made a series of classic opera recordings under Tullio Serafin with singers such as Renata Tebaldi and Carlo Bergonzi, and in the 1980s it enjoyed an association with Leonard Bernstein, who was honorary president from 1983 until his death in 1990. In 2002 the orchestra moved into a new purpose-built hall, the 2,800-seat Sala Santa Cecilia at the Parco della Musica, designed by Renzo Piano. Three years later Antonio Pappano was appointed music director, touring with the orchestra throughout Europe and as far afield as New York and Tokyo. Under Pappano the Santa Cecilia Orchestra has made a series of award-winning recordings, including Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with soprano Angela Gheorghiu, Verdi’s Aida with soprano Anja Harteros and tenor Jonas Kaufmann, Bernstein’s three symphonies, and large-scale choral music by Verdi, Rossini, and Britten. Together they have also made portrait albums with Kaufmann and soprano Anna Netrebko, and concerto recordings with pianists Beatrice Rana (Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev) and Jan Lisiecki (Schumann) and violinist Janine Jansen (Brahms).