Le Piano Symphonique, Lucerne: from Martha Argerich & friends to Jean Rondeau in self-indulgent form

Beethoven: Cello Sonata - Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich - KKL Luzern (Photo: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester/Philipp Schmidli)

Beethoven: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.5 No.2, Violin Sonata in major Op.47 'Kreuzer', Debussy: En blanc et noire, Prelude a l'apres-midid d'un faune; Mischa Maisky, Janine Jansen, Martha Argerich, Stephen Kovacevich; Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern
Sisyphus; Jean Rondeau, Ocubo; Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern
Reviewed 16 January 2026

Any appearance from Martha Argerich is a joy, and here at the festival where she is associated artist, she chose a programme notable both for its variety and for her collaboration with various friends. By way of contrast, the evening ended with Jean Rondeau bringing the harpsichord into the 21st century

The evening concert on Friday 16 January 2026 at Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern placed the emphasis firmly on pianist Martha Argerich. She was joined by friends, cellist Mischa Maisky and violinist Janine Jansen for a pair of Beethoven's instrumental sonatas, and then pianist Stephen Kovacevich joined her for a pair of Debussy works for two pianos. In a surprising and enterprising leap, the final section of the evening was devoted to harpsichordist Jean Rondeau giving a very contemporary spin on the instrument with his improvisation Sisyphus.

Jean Rondeau - KKL Luzern (Photo: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester/Philipp Schmidli)

The more subversive amongst us might have noted that it was an evening of 'big hair', not just Martha Argerich's famous mane (though she indulged in little mane tossing), but Mischa Maisky seemed to be channelling an ageing member of Queen, whilst Jean Rondeau brought more recent bad-boy images to mind, notably Kurt Cobain.

Le Piano Symphonique, Lucerne: pianist Alexandre Kantorow in a marathon from Prokofiev to Alkan & Medtner with an Anders Hillborg premiere

Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 - Alexandre Kantorow, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester - KKL Luzern (Photo: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester/Philipp Schmidli)

Bach: Partita No. 2 in C minor, Haydn: Andante mit variationen in F minor; Alkan: Symphonie pour piano seul, Op. 39; Schaghajegh Nosrati; Le Piano Symphonique at Hotel Schweizerhof, Luzern
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Dvorak: Symphony No. 8 in G major, Alkan: Preludes Nos. 3, 13, 18, Anders Hillborg: Kalamazoo Flow; Medtner: Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5; Alexandre Kantorow, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Robin Ticciati; Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern
Reviewed 15 January 2026

Thursday evening's concert at Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern (15 January 2026) was something of a marathon for French pianist Alexandre Kantorow. He opened the evening with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and conductor Robin Ticciati (standing in for an ailing Christoph Eschenbach) in Prokofiev's mammoth Piano Concerto No. 3. Ticciati and the orchestra followed with Dvorak's Symphony No. 8 (replacing the planned Brahms' Piano Quartet No. 1 in Schoenberg's orchestration). Then Kantorow returned with a solo recital moving from Alkan to an Anders Hillborg premiere to Medtner. Finally finishing with a Chopin encore at 10:20pm, some three and a quarter hours after launching into the Prokofiev. Le Piano Symphonique concerts are certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Dvorak: Symphony NO. 8 - Robin Ticciati, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester - KKL Luzern (Photo: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester/Philipp Schmidli)

At the helm of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3, Robin Ticciati gave no sense of being a last-minute stand-in. His relation with Alexandre Kantorow was flexible and lively, the two men bringing feeling of vibrant youth to the concerto. This is young man's music, Prokofiev completed the work age just 30 having begun it some five years earlier, and he was the soloist in the premiere in Chicago. Ticciati's concern for detail in the orchestra by no means overwhelmed hi rapport with Kantorow. This was a performance that wore the technical demand lightly, Kantorow's performance being notable for the detail as a much as volume.

Le piano symphonique, Lucerne: Im Klaviergeiste Mozarts with Alexandra Dovgan & Robin Ticciati

Le Piano Symphonique - Robin Ticciati & Luzerner Sinfonieorchester (Photo: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester / Philip Schmidli)

Mozart: Overture to La Clemenza di Tito, Piano Concerto No. 20, Bach: Toccata in E minor, Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor; Alexandra Dovgan, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Robin Ticciati; Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Luzern
Reviewed 14 January 2026

A change of soloist brings a refocusing of the programme, and allows 18-year-old Russian virtuoso Alexandra Dovgan to move from poised Mozart to dazzling textures in Chopin 

The third evening of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra's festival, Le Piano Symphonique at KKL Lucerne was intended to begin with Mozart conducted by Robin Ticciati including the D minor piano concerto, then move on to solo piano works by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. Whatever programming logic there was to the evening was disturbed, however, by the illness of pianist Beatrice Rana. In the event, the concerto soloist Alexandra Dovgan took over the whole programme, bringing the evening to a close with Bach and Chopin.

We began with Mozart, the overture to La Clemenza di Tito with Robin Ticciati bringing out the incisive drama of the piece, the opening full of expectancy. There was plenty of fine detail alongside the drama. Whilst the solo wind passages were lovely indeed, the larger ensembles were somewhat too string dominated for my taste, however the orchestra and conductor brought thing to a conclusion with vivid brilliance.

Le Piano Symphonique - Alexandra Dovgan (Photo: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester / Philip Schmidli)

The young Russian pianist Alexandra Dovgan is only 18, yet her approach to Mozart proved to be surprisingly mature and poised. As might be expected, Ticciati and the orchestra brought a serious sense of drama and intensity to the brooding orchestral introduction. By contrast, Dovgan's first entry was characterised by simplicity and clarity, and throughout the concerto she avoided big Romantic gestures. For all the orchestral sturm und drang, particularly in the development section, she projected cool poise and elegance. This sense of elegance continued with the slow movement. At first Dovgan's approach was very classical, but as the movement developed we had some serious fun too. There was a vivid directness to the finale, the vivacity of Dovgan's playing matched by the orchestra. On stage, Dovgan cut a poised and somewhat reticent figure, this image rather belied by her ability to pedal in killer heels.

Il pomo d'oro: the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik celebrates its 50th anniversary with Cesti's extravagant opera

Stage set for the underworld scene in Antonio Cesti's opera Il pomo d'oro, performed in Vienna in 1668

In 1652 the composer Antonio Cesti became a member of the court of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria in Innsbruck and Cesti's opera, La Dori premiered in Innsbruck in 1657. Cesti is, however, best known by reputation for his opera Il pomo d'oro (The Golden Apple) which was written for the wedding in Vienna of Emperor Leopold I in 1666, and first performed in 1668, in a famously lavish production, with a large orchestra, numerous choruses, and various mechanical devices used to stage things like gods descending from heaven (deus ex machina), naval battles, and storms. 

Rather appropriately the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik is celebrating its 50th anniversary by staging Il pomor d'oro complete - five acts and a prologue, roles performed by 20 singers, with dance and choral sections. The surviving manuscript in Vienna is famously incomplete, so the festival's musical director, Ottavio Dantone, has also composed the missing music for Acts III and V. The production is directed by Fabio Ceresa, with costumes designed by Giuseppe Palella, and sets by Nikolaus Webern, with dancers from Street Motion Studio and the NovoCanto choir.

A new production of Handel's Atalanta will feature young performers from the 2025 Cesti competition. The production is directed by François de Carpentries and Karine Van Hercke under the musical direction of Andrea Buccarella. Making their debuts in the opera will be, among others, Cesti winner Salvador Simão and third-place winner Pierre Gennaï. 

The Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik runs from 24 July to 30 August 2026, full details from the festival's website. 

From Classical to Romantic: I chat to Michael Sanderling about the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra & Le Piano Symphonique festival

Wagner: Götterdämmerung suite - Michael Sanderling, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra - Le Piano Symphonique, Lucerne 2024 (Photo: Philipp Schmidli)

Michael Sanderling is the current chief conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, responsible not only for the orchestra's regular season at KKL Lucerne but for conducting the orchestra in concerts at the orchestra's Le Piano Symphonique festival. [see my interview with the festival's intendant, Numa Bischof Ullman]. This year, the orchestra was accompanying the Liszt cycle (the two piano concertos and Totentanz with pianist Yoav Levanon) and Grieg's Piano Concerto (with pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja), but alongside the performance of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 the orchestra was also playing Michael Sanderling's suite from Wagner's Gotterdammerung.

My chat with Michael Sanderling too place at a busy time, fitted in amongst his conducting and rehearsal commitments during the festival, as well as the planning for the recording sessions the following week.

A winter week focusing on the piano yet hosted by an orchestra: intendant Numa Bischof Ullmann introduces Lucerne's Le Piano Symphonique & looks forward to the 2025 festival

Pianists Yoav Levanon and Martha Argerich, and intendant Numa Bischof Ullmann backstage at the 2024 Le Piano Symphonique in Lucerne (Photo: Luzerner Sinfonieorchester / Philipp Schmidli)

Lucerne's Le Piano Symphonique festival has just completed its fourth season, and having focused on Brahms, Saint-Saens and Schumann, the 2024 festival focused on the twin icons of Liszt and Schubert. The festival is based at KKL (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern) in Lucerne and is run by the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, intendant Numa Bischof Ullmann, chief conductor Michael Sanderling. If you wonder why a piano festival in Lucerne, the question really is why not as the history of the piano in Lucerne is astonishing with Rachmaninoff living nearby (as did Wagner), Scriabin living and writing in the area, Liszt living in the area, Edwin Fischer giving masterclasses and much much more.

The festival came about because the piano festival run by the Lucerne Festival (no relation) came to an end and KKL looked for ideas for a new piano festival. The result, a winter week focusing on the piano yet hosted by an orchestra, with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra's intendant, Numa Bischof Ullmann in charge of the festival. Numa emphasises the Le Piano Symphonique has friendly relations with the Lucerne Festival with the orchestra being a regular participant. The creation of Le Piano Symphonique was intended to be enriching for Lucerne rather than in competition.

Homage to Liszt: Benjamin Grosvenor on astonishing form in Liszt and Brett Dean in Lucerne

Brett Dean: Faustian Pact - Benjamin Grosvenor - Le Piano Symphonique
at Lukaskirche, Lucerne (Photo: Philipp Schmidli für das Luzerner Sinfonieorchester)

Brett Dean: Faustian Pact, Hommage à Liszt (first performance), Liszt: Sonata in B minor, Chopin: Sonata No. 3; Benjamin Grosvenor; Le Piano Symphonique at Lukaskirche, Lucerne
Reviewed 19 January 2024

Benjamin Grosvenor combines astonishing virtuosity alongside intimacy and sheer power in Liszt's sonata and Brett Dean's new piece inspired by Grosvenor's performance of the Liszt

What did the piano sonata mean for those who came after Beethoven. Chopin' first mature sonata (no 2 in B flat major from 1839) has become one of the icons of the piano repertoire, but for Robert Schumann the work demonstrated that Chopin could not handle sonata form. Chopin wrote his Sonata No. 3, in B minor (a key not used by Beethoven for his sonatas) in 1844, partly to counter these criticisms.

Chopin adhered to the traditional four-movement sonata form but within this he used new, Romantic content to create something new.

Franz Liszt wrote a single sonata in 1853 (also in B minor) and dedicated it to Robert Schumann. But the work had been in progress since at least 1849. Liszt opted for innovation in both structure and content, writing a huge single-movement structure that has commentators talking about its exact meaning.

On Friday 19 January 2024, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor gave the lunchtime recital for Le Piano Symphonique in Lucerne's Lukaskirche. Grosvenor placed Liszt's Sonata in B minor at the centre of his recital, following it by Chopin's Sonata No. 3 and preceding it with the world premiere of Brett Dean's Faustian Pact (Hommage à Liszt), the most recent Dean's homage pieces (previous ones have been included Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and Kurtag), a co-commission from Le Piano Symphonique and Wigmore Hall, and written for Benjamin Grosvenor whose performance of Liszt's sonata inspired Brett Dean's work.

Let the dialogue flow: Benjamin Bernheim leads a wonderfully memorable account of Massenet's Werther in Zurich

Massenet: Werther - Benjamin Bernheim, Valeriy Murga - Zurich Opera (Photo: Toni Suter)

Massenet: Werther; Benjamin Bernheim, Rihab Chaieb, Sandra Hamaoui, Audun Iversen, Valeriy Murga, director: Tatjana Gürbaca/Nina Russi, conductor: Giedrė Šlekytė; Zurich Opera
Reviewed 19 January 2024

One of those performances created by people who understood what is needed in Massenet's opera with one of the most finely sung accounts of the title role that I have ever heard. Pure magic

Zurich Opera debuted its production of Massenet's Werther at Zurich Opera House in 2017, directed by Tatjana Gürbaca with Juan Diego Florez in the title role. On Friday 19 January 2024, the production received its first revival (revival director Nina Russi), conducted by Giedrė Šlekytė with Benjamin Bernheim in the title role, Rihab Chaieb making her house debut as Charlotte, Sandra Hamaoui as Sophie, Audun Iversen as Albert and Valeriy Murga as Le Bailli.

Werther has an important Swiss history. Written in 1885, it was rejected by the Opéra Comique in Paris as being too serious. Eventually the work would be premiered in Vienna at the Hofoper in German in 1892. The first performance in the original French was later in 1892 in Geneva, with the first performance in France not happening until 1893 when it was given by the Théâtre Lyrique and it was not until 1903 that the Opéra Comique took the work on.

In Zurich, Klaus Grünberg's set consisted of a single wood panelled box with compartments/cupboards that opened to reveal the necessaries for the plot - dinner things, bread, Albert's pistol, an organ for Act Two, an urn with Charlotte's mother's ashes and so on. Costumes (by Silke Willrett) were roughly modern, however no mobile phones and Le Bailli uses a small portable typewriter.

Massenet: Werther - Benjamin Bernheim, Rihab Chaib - Zurich Opera (Photo: Toni Suter)

But there was also a surreal element to the staging in the way the children in Act One would emerge from odd cupboards whilst throughout the evening members of the cast emerged and disappeared through odd panels. For his first entrance, Benjamin Bernheim's Werther emerged along the fore-stage and walked into the dramatic space, whilst his hymn to nature took place whilst he wandered round the stationery members of Le Bailli's family, almost as if Werther had conjured them from his imagination.

From large-scale Liszt and Wagner to intimate Schumann and Schubert at Lucerne's Le Piano Symphonique

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Yoav Levanon, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra - Le Piano Symphonique, Lucerne (Photo: Philipp Schmidli)

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2, Wagner, arr. Michael Sanderling: Götterdämmerung Suite, Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Op 13, Schubert: Allegro in A minor, D947; Yoav Levanon, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling, Elisabeth Leonskaja, David Fray; Le Piano Symphonique at KKL, Lucerne
Reviewed 18 January 2024

From Lisztian bombast to Wagnerian sorcery with the Lucerne orchestra in fine fettle, then the contrast of mesmerising solo Schumann from Elisabeth Leonskaja and ending with pure friendship as she and David Fray duetted

The history of Liszt's piano concertos is somewhat complex. He began sketching ideas for what would become his first piano concerto in 1830, but it did not come to completion until 1849. In the mean time, he began work on what would become his second piano concerto in 1839/40 but did not complete the final revisions to the work until 1861. By this time his career as a virtuoso was over, so the two concertos have rather different aims. The first is a virtuoso vehicle, allowing space for the soloist who initiates ideas. The second is closer to Liszt's symphonic poems with the piano having a more accompanying role. As such, it was fascinating to hear the two played on successive evenings by the same soloist, orchestra and conductor, in the same hall.

David Fray, Elisabeth Leonskaja - Le Piano Symphonique, Lucerne (Photo: Philipp Schmidli)

Made in Switzerland: tenor Daniel Behle & pianist Oliver Schnyder combine musicality & intelligence in their recital for Lucerne's Le Piano Symphonique

View of Lucerne - watercolour by Felix Mendelssohn 1847 (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Made in Switzerland - Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schubert/Liszt, Liszt, Wagner, R. Strauss; Daniel Behle, Oliver Schnyder; Le Piano Symphonique at Lukaskirche, Lucerne
Reviewed 18 January 2024

A wonderfully imaginative programme centred on music created in Switzerland in finely communicative and musical performances, combining bravura and technical skill with sheer musicality and intelligence

Le Piano Symphonique's lunchtime concerts in Lucerne largely take place in the Lukaskirche, a fine 1930s church not far from KKL, the festival's evening home. There, in front of the impressive stained glass window of the Last Judgement (by Louis Moilliet), Swiss pianist Oliver Schnyder and German tenor Daniel Behle presented Made in Switzerland on 18 January 2024, a programme exploring music by composers who lived and worked in Switzerland. Their programme centred on Liszt's Années de pèlerinage, Première année: Suisse, and ended with Richard Strauss, living in Switzerland after World War II and writing his Four Last Songs.

But the recital began with Mendelssohn who not only visited Lucerne but painted it in 1847 (see above). Some ten years before this, Mendelssohn was writing his Bach-inspired Six Preludes and Fugues, Op. 35 and Oliver Schnyder played the first of these, in E Major. The prelude was full of movement and drama with Schnyder making a wonderfully vivid sound. The fugue began in a concentrated fashion with a rather chromatic fugue subject, but Schnyder made the movement build in momentum and drama leading to a vibrant climax, which was followed by Mendelssohn's incorporation of a chorale into the structure.

From poetic Liszt and Grieg concertos to a little bit of magic from Martha Argerich and friends at Le Piano Symphonique in Lucerne

Grieg: Piano Concerto - Elisabeth Leonskaja, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling (Photo: Philipp Schmidli, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester)

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1, Grieg: Piano Concerto, Haydn, Mendelssohn; Yoav Levanon, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling, Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky, Janine Jansen; Le Piano Symphonique at KKL (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern)
Reviewed 17 January 2024    

From the poetry of the young Yoav Levanon in Liszt's symphonic concerto and Elisabeth Leonskaya making Grieg her own to sheer magic from just three performers led by Martha Argerich in piano trios by Haydn and Mendelssohn

The Lucerne Symphony Orchestra's Le Piano Symphonique festival has returned to Lucerne for its fourth edition with a week of concerts focused on the piano and all things keyboard. The festival opened at Lucerne's KKL (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern) with a recital from pianists Michael Pletnev and Martha Argerich (recently named as the festival's Pianiste Associée) on Tuesday 16 January. We caught the second evening of the festival at KKL on 17 January 2024, Michael Sanderling conducted the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 with soloist Yoav Levanon and Grieg's Piano Concerto with soloist Elisabeth Leonskaja. The festival continues its innovative exploration of concert programming, so the second half of the evening then moved to piano trios, with Martha Argerich joined by cellist Mischa Maisky and violinist Janine Jansen for Haydn's Piano Trio in G major, 'Gypsy Rondo' and Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor.

Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 - Yoav Levanon  (Photo: Philipp Schmidli, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester)

Yoav Levanon was the soloist last year in the festival's performance of the Paderewski Piano Concerto [see my review], and he has returned this year to perform both Liszt concertos as well as the Totentanz and then the performances will be recorded for Warner Classics next week. Levanon is something of a youthful wonder, still only nineteen and looking not unlike the young Liszt (and he is the age Liszt was when the composer started work on his concerto).

Zermatt Music Festival premières a new octet by David Philip Hefti

Scharoun Ensemble Berlin

This year’s Zermatt Festival (running from Friday 8 to Sunday 17 September) will première a new octet entitled Des Zaubers Spuren (Traces of Magic) written by Swiss-born composer/conductor, David Philip Hefti, who is also the festival's composer-in-residence. The work will be performed by Scharoun Ensemble Berlin comprising members of the Berliner Philhamoniker; the ensemble founded the festival, based in the Swiss mountain resort of Zermatt, in 2005. 

Born in St Gallen, Hefti enjoyed good company as a student studying composition, conducting, clarinet and chamber music with the likes of Wolfgang Rihm, Cristóbal Halffter and Wolfgang Meyer in Zürich and Karlsruhe while he's a winner all the way it seems. For instance, he took top honours at such prestigious composition competitions as Gustav Mahler, Vienna, Pablo Casals, Prades and George Enescu, Bucharest. He was also awarded the Hindemith Prize, the Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize and the Composer Award of the International Classical Music Awards. 

In respect of his new work for Zermatt this is what he had to say: "I have frequently performed Schubert's Octet as a clarinettist over the course of my music studies therefore I'm delighted that my new octet Des Zaubers Spuren written for the Scharoun Ensemble will punctuate the year when they're celebrating their 40th anniversary. 

"It has been a great privilege writing my new Octet, a companion piece to Schubert's Octet, for the Scharoun Ensemble and, therefore, I'm looking tremendously forward in working on and premièring the piece with such a gifted and gallant bunch of musicians especially in the peaceful, tranquil and spiritual setting that surrounds the famous Matterhorn". 

As composer-in-residence, Hefti will be featured in a variety of concert formats with a couple dedicated and performed by the young bloods from the Zermatt Music Academy. They'll play Hefti's Gallicinium: Musik zur vierten Nachtwache für Bläserquintett (Gallicinium: Music for the Fourth Night Watch for wind quintet) dating from 2021 and an earlier work entitled Monumentum for string sextet from 2014. 

Incidentally, the German première of Des Zaubers Spuren will take place at the Berlin Philharmonie on Wednesday 27 September thus marking the auspicious occasion of the Scharoun Ensemble's 40th anniversary. Cake all round! 

Full details from the Zermatt Festival website.

David Philip Hefti's concerts programmed for this year's Zermatt Festival 

Tuesday, 12th September, English Church
Zermatt Music Academy Ensemble
David Philip Hefti: Gallicinium: Musik zur vierten Nachtwache für Bläserquintett 

Wednesday, 13th September, St Mauritius-Pfarrkirche
Zermatt Music Academy Ensemble
David Philip Hefti: Monumentum für Streichsextett 

Friday, 15th September, St Mauritius-Pfarrkirche
Scharoun Ensemble 
Zermatt Festival Orchestra
David Philip Hefti (conductor)
Christiane Karg (soprano), Wolfram Brandl (violin/concert master), Jonathan Kelly (oboe)
Bach: Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor, BWV 1060.
David Philip Hefti: Des Zaubers Spuren, world première, commissioned by the Zermatt Festival for the Scharoun Ensemble
Alban Berg: Seven Early Songs (Sieben frühe Lieder) (c.1905-08), (arr. Reinbert de Leeuw). Early compositions of Alban Berg written while he was under the tutelage of Arnold Schoenberg.
Schubert: Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D 417 (the Tragic) 

Saturday, 16th September, St Mauritius-Pfarrkirche
David Philip Hefti (conductor)
Zermatt Festival Orchestra
Christiane Karg (soprano)
Mozart: Così fan tutte (arranged for wind octet by Andreas N. Tarkmann)
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été (Summer Nights), Op. 7
Strauss: Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings 

Sunday, 17th September, Kapelle Riffelalp
Scharoun Ensemble 
Christiane Karg (soprano)
Zermatt Music Academy Ensemble
Beethoven: Wind Octet in E flat major, Op. 103
David Philip Hefti: Five Scenes for Gustav - String Quartet No.6  
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder for high voice and string quartet (arr. David Philip Hefti) 

info@zermattfestival.com 

00 41 21 721 13 14 

 

 

 

From Paderewski to Edmund Finnis, Le piano symphonique's daring double-concert in Lucerne

Paderewski: Piano Concerto - Yoav Levanon, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra - Le Piano Symphonique, KKL Luzern (Photo: Philipp Schmidli)

Paderewski: Piano Concerto, Glass, Galuppi, Cimarosa, Mozart, Edmund Finnis: Mirror Images; Yoav Levanon, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Michael Sanderling, Víkingur Ólafsson; Le piano symphonique at KKL Luzern
Reviewed 9 February 2023

A daring contrast, beginning with the young pianist Yoav Levanon in devastating form in Paderewski's Piano Concerto and ending with Víkingur Ólafsson in Edmund Finnis' seductive sequence, Mirror Images

For the evening concerto on Thursday 8 February in the Konzertsaal of KKL Luzern, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra's festival, Le piano symphonique presented an intriguing double bill. For the first half, pianist Yoav Levanon joined the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Sanderling for Paderewski's Piano Concerto. After the interview, the stage had cleared and pianist Víkingur Ólafsson gave a solo piano recital mixing Philip Glass, Galuppi, Cimarosa and Mozart, ending with Edmund Finnis' Mirror Images.

The resulting evening was a daring experiment and the two halves were in complete contrast. The music chosen by Ólafsson, with its sense of control, subtle use of colour and gentle modulation of tone, contrasted brilliantly with the elaborations of Paderewski's writing where, if there was a melody, the composer would decorate it.

Víkingur Ólafsson - Le Piano Symphonique, KKL Luzern (Photo: Philipp Schmidli)

Paderewski has a strong Swiss connection. In the 1890s he bought a villa in Morges which from then on he used as a rest haven between tours, and in the 1920s and 1930s it became a political base as he involved himself in the politics of the independent Poland created after World War I.

Fluidity and intimacy: Martha Argerich in Schumann's Piano Concerto at Le Piano Symphonique festival in Lucerne

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.

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.

French inspiration, spectacular scenery & classical music: I chat to festival director Christoph Müller about this year's Gstaad Menuhin Festival

Gstaad, Switzerland

Gstaad is a town in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Bern in southwestern Switzerland. Whilst the area is perhaps well known for its skiing, it is also the home of a major classical musical festival; the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the second largest festival in Switzerland, founded in 1957 by Yehudi Menuhin, who was director for 40 years. Thanks to the spectacular setting it combines nature with classical music at a high level. This year's festival, which runs from 18 July to 6 September 2019 is presenting 60 concerts in seven weeks. The current director of the festival is Christoph Müller, and we chatted via Skype recently about what this year's festival has to offer.

Saanen Church
one of the Gstaad Menuhin Festival venues

Christoph emphasises the festival's special location, which provides not only the natural backdrop but also historic churches with wonderful acoustics, and they use the large festival tent (seating 1800) for symphonic and operatic concerts. Whilst music is the main focus of the festival, it is able to offer a relaxed atmosphere so that visitors can combine relaxing holiday with music, unlike festivals in busier urban areas like Lucerne or Salzburg.

Each year the festival has a theme, and this year it is French music and the city of Paris. Not only is Paris an inspiring melting pot of music, but there is a local aspect to French culture too. Christoph explains that though some sort of barrier exists between German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland (with two different cultures and two different languages), 500 metres behind the festival venues the French part of Switzerland begins, so French culture is actually very close them. Christoph wants the festival to build a bridge between the two spaces, bringing French music closer to his audience. And French music is not usually performed in such a concentrated way, which makes this year's festival special indeed.

There are different strands, different islands in the programming with chamber music performed in Saanen Church, and symphonic music in the tent. The pianist Bertrand Chamayou is in residence, and in fact Chamayou was very much an inspiration for Christoph to programme this year's festival. Chamamayou will be giving five concerts, both solo recitals and joining with friends such as Sol Gabetta and Alina Ibragimova.

One of the highlights of the symphonic strand is the visit of the Dresden Staatskapelle, which performs at the final concert on 6 September. Usually the orchestra plays at the Lucerne Festival but for the first time its Swiss visit will be to Gstaad instead, where it will be making their festival debut. And Christoph is very proud to be hosting the orchestra. Other festival debutants, include the pianist Yuja Wang and the violinist Hilary Hahn.