Riccardo Chailly will remain at the helm of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra until the end of 2028, following a new agreement announced today by Lucerne Festival. His previous contract covered performances through summer 2026; the extension now includes future collaborations with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) and upcoming international tours. Chailly will continue to lead concerts at both the Spring and Summer Festivals, including their official openings.
Chailly has served as Music Director since 2016, succeeding Claudio Abbado, and has shaped the orchestra’s artistic profile in recent years with cycles and projects dedicated to Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Strauss, and Wagner. Executive and Artistic Director Sebastian Nordmann highlighted the musicians’ strong support for the extension, noting the “deep musical understanding” between Chailly and the orchestra. For his part, Chailly described the ensemble as an “inspiration,” emphasising the close personal and artistic relationship built over ten years of collaboration.
Lucerne Festival Spring 2026: three days of concerts with Welser-Möst and Chailly
Alongside the announcement, Lucerne Festival unveiled the programme for Lucerne Festival Spring, which will take place from 27 to 29 March 2026 and feature performances by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Franz Welser-Möst will open the festival on 27 March with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” joined by pianist Leif Ove Andsnes in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor, K. 466.
On 28 March, the Hagen Quartet, founding musicians of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, will bid farewell to Swiss concert stages with a chamber programme including Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, and Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, D 956. They will be joined by pianist Kirill Gerstein and cellist Julia Hagen, winner of the 2024 UBS Young Artist Award.
Chailly will return to the podium on 29 March, continuing the festival’s Beethoven focus with Symphony No. 4. Violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian will appear as soloist in Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.
Founded in 2003 by Claudio Abbado and Michael Haefliger, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra brings together leading soloists, principal players from major orchestras, and musicians from ensembles such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Filarmonica della Scala. Since 2022, the orchestra has performed not only in summer but also in spring as part of the festival’s expanded programming.
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