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Schumann: Piano Concerto - Martha Argerich, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra - Le Piano Symphonique, KKL Luzern (Photo: Philipp Schmidli) |
Brahms: Symphony No. 3, Schumann: Piano Concerto; Martha Argerich, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling; Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern
Argerich gives a remarkably intimate performance of Schumann's concerto in an evening notable for fluidity, flexibility and a chamber-like orchestral balance
After two cancelled TGVs and three cancelled flights, I finally made it to the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra's piano festival, Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern (Culture and Congress Centre, Lucerne). The festival had opened on 7 February 2023 with pianist Rudolph Buchbinder in Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann, followed by what was reportedly a remarkable concert when Jean Rondeau gave a harpsichord recital, playing Rameau, Couperin and Pancrace Royer in a swimming pool (emptied of water).
I caught up with the festival on 8 February 2023, when pianist Martha Argerich joined the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under its music director Michael Sanderling for Schumann's Piano Concerto and the programme began with Brahms' Symphony no. 3.
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Brahms: Symphony No. 3 - Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling - Le Piano Symphonique, KKL Luzern (Photo: Philipp Schmidli |
The Konzertsaal at KKL is a handsome modern auditorium, traditional rectangle in shape with three shallow balconies and the stage lined with wood. The acoustic seemed warm and true, certainly the subtleties of balance that Sanderling brought to the Brahms were highlighted as were the moments when Martha Argerich's performance of the Schumann became an intimate recital.