Antonio Pappano conducts quarantined S. Cecilia orchestra from afar.

The orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia, led by conductor Antonio Pappano, has created a new soundtrack for the Oscar-winning movie La Grande Bellezza, to accompany a new montage of scenes from the film, selected by its director Paolo Sorrentino.

Pappano himself dreams of being able to return to his Rome to embrace his musicians and his audience and his dream overlaps with that of Jep - the characater played by Toni Servillo - who, in a succession of evocative images, passes through some of the city's greatest landmarks.

Pappano conducts the orchestra virtually, with 94 classical musicians performing from their homes during Italy's lockdown due to the covid-19 pandemic.

      Read also:

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The new soundtrack to The Great Beauty features I Pini di Roma (The Pines of Rome) the symphonic poem composed by Ottorino Respighi specifically for the orchestra of S. Cecilia which premiered the piece in Rome in December 1924.

The video is an audio-visual treat combining these two masterpieces, enriched by the virtuosity of S. Cecilia and the unique backdrop of the Eternal City.