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
Eschenbach conducts Schönberg & Brahms
To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, conductor Christoph Eschenbach conducts Arnold Schoenberg’s “A Survivor from Warsaw” and Johannes Brahms’ “A German Requiem”, with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic and Choir as well as soloists Michael Nagy and Aleksandra Zamojska. Both works carry a profound emotional depth and humanistic message. Schoenberg’s “A Survivor from Warsaw” is one of the most significant compositions by this leading avant-garde artist of the early 20th century. And of his “German Requiem”, Brahms once said that he “would gladly omit the word ‘German’ and simply use ‘Human,’” emphasizing his desire for it to be seen as a “human requiem”. PROGRAM Schönberg: A Survivor from Warsaw; Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
Der Rosenkavalier
When Strauss and Hofmannsthal wrote «Der Rosenkavalier» – setting it in an imaginary Rococo Vienna and yet closely linked to the decadent fin de siècle – they created a profound social comedy. It is not without melancholy that the Marschallin lets her young lover Octavian go when he falls head over heels with Sophie, who hails from Faninal’s bourgeois household. As voluptuous as Strauss’ score is, it contains tender moments of dream and melancholy. Director Lydia Steier stages Strauss’ opera according to an aesthetic concept by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein. Diana Damrau sings the Marschallin. Joana Mallwitz conducts the Orchester der Oper Zürich.
Arvo Pärt Festival
To celebrate Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Concerto Copenhagen present an extraordinary concert at St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Görlitz. Under the direction of Grammy-winning conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, they perform works by the world’s most renowned and widely performed living composer.
Elina Garanca Recital
The new season of the Opernhaus Zürich opened with an extraordinary recital. The celebrated mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and the new artistic director Matthias Schulz transported the audience into a world of songs and arias with works by Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, Brahms, Schumann, and other romantic and late romantic composers. The centerpiece of the evening was the aria “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Saint-Saëns’ opera “Samson et Dalila,” which Garanca, as “Dalila,” knows to masterfully and emotionally interpret on the world’s greatest operatic stages and with full orchestras. Matthias Schulz’s sensitive piano accompaniment left nothing to be desired in terms of this emotionality and artistry. The two musicians have a longstanding musical collaboration, and their recitals delight European audiences.
RCO: Mäkelä conducts Mahler 5
The chief conductor designate Klaus Mäkelä is once again following in the footsteps of Gustav Mahler. Since Mahler led the orchestra in his Fifth Symphony in 1906, they performed it 130 times. The kaleidoscopic symphony evokes emotional extremes. ‘Each movement has its friends and foes,’ Mahler once said. Yet the Adagietto, the symphony’s very lifeblood, seems to have only friends. According to Willem Mengelberg, the orchestra’s then chief conductor who maintained close contact with the composer, this movement was a pure declaration of love to Mahler’s wife Alma. The young violinist Daniel Lozakovich joins the Concertgebouw Orchestra for the first collaboration together. He shines in Max Bruch’s legendary First Violin Concerto. PROGRAM Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1; Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Luciano Pavarotti – The man who moved the world
Not even the rain stopped Luciano Pavarotti’s passionated fans from attending the Maestro’s 90th birthday at the Arena di Verona: this emotional concert from the famous opera temple brings the famous tenor back to life. Enchanting visuals blended with the most famous Italian arias and duets sung at the beloved Pavarotti & Friends concerts, create the special atmosphere of an unforgettable night. Companions and stars of the classical and pop music scene such as Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Jonathan Tetelman, Umberto Tozzi, Il Volo, HAUSER, Yusif Eyvazov, Angela Gheorghiou and more are accompanied by the brand new Orchestra Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti under the masterful direction of Matteo Parmeggiani – a unique collaboration blending pop, opera, and orchestral music into a mesmerising tapestry of sound.
Elina Garanca at Neuschwanstein Castle
The Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca is one of the most influential voices of our time. She is like a storm: spirited, haunting, but also seductive and just as enthusiastic and inspiring as the Chamber Artists (CHAARTS). Together, the musicians present romantic raptures and exciting emotional depths in Mahler’s Rückert Lieder and excerpts from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen.
Klaus Florian Vogt at Neuschwanstein Castle
A wonderful concert in King Ludwig’s fairytale castle. The Munich Symphony Orchestra perform together with the star tenor and celebrated Wagner hero Klaus Florian Vogt. Together they present works by Wagner, Weber, Mozart and Strauss with full sound power and creative experimentation and guaranteed goosebumps.