In its 20th season, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra opened the 2023 summer festival with Mahler’s Third. Paavo Järvi takes over for Riccardo Chailly on short notice and proved to be a more than worthy substitute. He led orchestra, chorus, and soloist Wiebke Lehmkuhl to an “air-spirited serenity” (FAZ)
Lucerne Festival 2023: Paavo Järvi & Maria João Pires
In another prominent concert of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra’s 20th anniversary edition, Maria Joa~o Pires performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, “Jenamy”, with the orchestra under the baton of Paavo Järvi, who “builds a sanctuary of delicate grace around his soloist.” (FAZ) PROGRAM Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271;
Andante from Piano Concerto No. 21, K. 467 (encore)
Lucerne Festival 2025: Chailly conducts Mahler
In his internationally acclaimed interpretations of Mahler’s symphonies, Riccardo Chailly focuses on the musical quality of the works, avoiding false pathos and sentimentality while retaining the music’s dramatic intensity. Together with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and Elina Garanca, he opened the 2025 festival summer festival with Mahler’s poignant, unfinished 10th Symphony and Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder. The concert opened with Pierre Boulez’s Mémoriale, in reverence of the inaugural director of the Lucerne Festival Academy, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2025. PROGRAM Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, Ssymphony No 10; Boulez: Mémoriale
Lucerne Festival 2025: Chailly conducts Rachmaninoff
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly continued their journey into Sergei Rachmaninoff’s emotional world. With the rarely performed The Rock, Op. 7, they immersed themselves in the composer’s early work. In his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rachmaninoff counterposes his own piano virtuosity against the brilliance of the legendary violinist Paganini. The piece was performed by the exceptional pianist Beatrice Rana, renowned worldwide for her electrifying playing. To conclude the evening, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, under Riccardo Chailly’s direction, presented Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1. PROGRAM Rachmaninoff: The Rock, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No 1