Music Matters

Tom Service talks to two world-class conductors of today, Sir Antonio Pappano and Sir Simon Rattle, as they swap roles at the London Symphony Orchestra, and looks back at one of music history's first great conductors, Richard Wagner.Four weeks ago, Sir Antonio Pappano was announced as the new Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra - he will leave his current role of Music Director at the Royal Opera at Covent Garden in 2024. Pappano also has a continuing role at the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - and it’s from the Orchestra’s home in Rome that he speaks to Tom about his early life growing up in London, his plans for the LSO, and his thoughts on conducting during lockdown.Richard Wagner was one of the great conductors of his day, and he wrote extensively about the about the philosophy as well as the technique of conducting. Chris Walton has made a new translation of Wagner's Essays on Conducting - writings which influenced generations of conductors for the next hundred years, a