Lucerne International Festival of Music

Lucerne International Festival of Music

Mid-August to mid-September

The first Lucerne Festival was held in 1938, when Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) was persuaded by the city of Lucerne, Switzerland, to conduct a concert at the Tribschen estate, formerly the home of composer Richard Wagner and recently turned into the Wagner Museum.
Because cultural life in Switzerland was not interrupted by World War II, the festival was able to attract many famous conductors and performers who were war refugees. In addition to Toscanini, other well-known participants in the early days of the festival include Bruno Walter (1876-1962), Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989), Fritz Busch (1890-1951), Artur Schnabel (1882-1951), Pablo Casals (1876-1973), Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989), and Rudolf Serkin (1903-1991).
Ernest Ansermet (1883-1969), Fritz Busch, and Bruno Walter formed the Swiss Festival Orchestra in 1943, and it has been the festival's mainstay ever since. Comprised of the best musicians in Switzerland who come together specifically for the Lucerne Festival and cannot be heard elsewhere, the orchestra is joined by other national groups—among them the Lucerne Festival Choir, the Lucerne Festival Strings, and the Lucerne Vocal Soloists—as well as internationally known orchestras from other countries. The program offers a balance of symphonic and chamber music as well as master classes, young artists' matinees, and a concert for seniors and persons with disabilities. The Millennium prompted festival organizers to choose music around special themes: "Myths" for 1999's festival, "Metamorphosis" for the 2000 festival, and "Creation" for 2001.

CONTACTS:
Lucerne Festival
Hirschmattstrasse 13
Luzern, 6002 Switzerland
41-41-226-4400; fax: 41-41-226-4460
www.e.lucernefestival.ch

SOURCES:
GdWrldFest-1985, p. 169
MusFestEurBrit-1980, p. 141
MusFestWrld-1963, p. 207