Lucerne Festival

Reference event

Lucerne Festival

Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the field of classical music.

Lucerne Festival was founded in 1938, and Michael Haefliger has been ist artistic director since 1999.

Summer Festival

The main festival in the summer from mid-August to mid-September offers a diverse range of around 100 concerts and continuing events. Each Summer Festival has a theme that runs like a thread through the dramaturgy of the program. A diverse range of concert formats is offered - symphony concerts, chamber music, recitals, debuts, late nights and much more.

Short Festivals

The summer festival is flanked by short festivals in spring and fall: "Lucerne Festival Forward" in November, a spring residency of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra before Easter, and a three-day piano festival curated by Igor Levit in May. "Lucerne Festival Forward" is artistically and conceptually shaped by musicians of the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO).

"We are proud to have the KKL Luzern as a venue that offers the very best conditions for the top international artists and orchestras performing at Lucerne Festival. Its excellent acoustics alone make the Salle Blanche one of the best concert halls in the world, and the architecture of the KKL Luzern is unique."

– Michael Haefliger, Executive and Artistic Director

Highlights of the Last 25 Years

2024: Arnold Schönberg's “Gurre-Lieder” conducted by Alan Gilbert to mark the composer's 150th birthday
2023: Henry Purcell: The Fairy Queen, Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
2022: Chineke! Orchestra, Kevin John Edusei, Sheku Kanneh Mason
2021: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt
2020: Cecilia Bartoli, Les Musiciens du Prince-Monaco, Gianluca Capuano
2019: West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, Anne-Sophie Mutter
2018: Fritz Hauser "Schraffur für Gong und KKL Luzern" with 300 participants of all ages from Lucerne
2017: Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla
2016: Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly with Gustav Mahlers Symphony of the Thousand
2015: Tod Machover’s "Sinfonie für Luzern" with the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra and Lucerne "Guggenmusik" groups
2014: Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Berlin Philharmonics, Sir Simon Rattle, Peter Sellars
2013: Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Jonathan Nott with Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen"
2012: Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
2011: Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Andris Nelsons
2010: Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
2009: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
2008: The Cleveland Orchestra, Franz Welser-Möst
2007: San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas
2006: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach
2005: London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kurt Masur, Christian Tetzlaff
2004: State Chapel Berlin, Choir of the German State Opera Berlin, Daniel Barenboim with Ludwig van Beethoven's “Fidelio”
2003: Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado (inaugural concert)
2002: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Matthias Goerne
2001: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
2000: BBC Philharmonic, BBC Singers, HK Gruber with Kurt Weill's "Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny”

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