2004
The first LUCERNE FESTIVAL ACADEMY was directed by Pierre Boulez and turned into a great success. Musical America.com even wrote: “The pace of innovation at Switzerland’s LUCERNE FESTIVAL shows no signs of slowing down.”
August 29th, 2004, signalled the start of this unique new place of training. On the occasion of this summit of contemporary music, about 120 individually selected music students from all over the world were given an opportunity to acquire experience in the field of New Music and expand their knowledge of the contemporary repertoire. With lecturers such as Pierre Boulez, the Artistic Director of the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ACADEMY, Composer-in-Residence Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Artiste étoile Maurizio Pollini, Hanspeter Kyburz, and Cliff Colnot and the musicians/lecturers of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the students had top-class teachers at their disposal with whom they were able to study and rehearse the symphonic as well as solo and chamber-music works of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Among the numerous artistic highlights of LUCERNE FESTIVAL, SOMMER 2004, which was dedicated to the theme of «Freedom», the festival hosted – in addition to the concerts given by the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA, whose second edition caused a worldwide echo ranging as far as Japan and China – the first residency of the Cleveland Orchestra directed by Franz Welser-Möst with its première of Night’s Black Bird by Harrison Birtwistle, who was awarded the first of the «Roche Commissions» and was this year’s composer-in-residence as well. Chinese-American artist Chen Yi was given the second commission to compose a work by the 2005 Roche Commissions. The double function of Mariss Jansons at the stand of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and as the new Chief Conductor of the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, and the residency of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with Simon Rattle with, inter alia, the performance of Messien’s Éclairs sur l’Au-delà fired the enthusiasm and praise of the press.
The fact that ”Lucerne consistently focuses on Modern Music” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) became repeatedly apparent at the strongly frequented concerts of the «Moderne» series with, inter alia, a full six premières.
In the course of the residency of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, the CREDIT SUISSE GROUP Young Artist Award – which goes back to an initiative of LUCERNE FESTIVAL, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Society of Friends of Music Vienna, and the CREDIT SUISSE GROUP Jubilee Foundation – was awarded for the third time. This year’s winner of the CHF 75,000 prize was cellist Sol Gabetta from Argentina.
2003
LUCERNE FESTIVAL gives its Japanese début with concerts by the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and Pierre Boulez. The Association of Japanese Friends of LUCERNE FESTIVAL is founded, initially with 120 members. At 38 days, the Summer Festival has the longest run in the Festival's history to date. The Festival ran under the motto "ICH" and offered concert series entitled "Wanderer," "Mirrors," "Frontiers" and "Portrait." After a ten-year lapse, the Festival again has its own orchestra: the performance of Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony with the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA under Claudio Abbado is a highlight of the Summer Festival, as is the Swiss première of Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Requiem für einen jungen Dichter and Robert Schumann's dramatic poem Manfred with Heinz Holliger and Klaus Maria Brandauer. Equally impressive are the concert performances of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart's Idomeneo and Heiner Goebbels’s Surrogate Cities with Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic.
Altogether there are 31 symphony concerts and five orchestras-in-residence. Thomas Demenga and Ingo Metzmacher are the artistes étoiles, Heiner Goebbels and Isabel Mundry the composers-in-residence. A total of 150 works from the 20th and 21st centuries as well as 18 world premières, including 14 specifically commissioned by the Festival (nine from Swiss composers Heinz Holliger, Rudolf Kelterborn, Jürg Wyttenbach, Thomas Demenga, Gérard Zinsstag, Mela Meierhans, Jacques Demierre and Bettina Skrzypczak). The LUCERNE FESTIVAL PREVIEW ACADEMIE takes place under the artistic direction of Pierre Boulez. The pianist Pawel Mazurkiewicz is awarded the Young Artist Prize from Credit Suisse. Winterreise, a piece of music theater, is performed by Simon Keenlyside with choreography by Trisha Brown. Co-production with Lucerne Theater: The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner. A cooperative venture is arranged with Carnegie Hall, and the first Roche Commission is awarded. Three concerts from the Easter and Summer Festivals are recorded for television. For the first time more than 400 journalists are accredited at the Festival. The Piano Festival features the modern concert grand in nine recitals. A new festival of cocktail piano music, Piano Offstage!, is highly successful.
2002
LUCERNE FESTIVAL, OSTERN: Double début of Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic. World première of the mystery play Licht Klang Wort by Koch-Schütz-Studer and Beni von Moos.
LUCERNE FESTIVAL, SOMMER: A new trilogy of themes begins with Verführung ("Seduction"), featuring concert cycles on "Love, Dance and Passion" and "Orient" as well as a symposium, exhibitions and a fringe festival. Pianist Alfred Brendel is artiste étoile. 32 symphony concerts, 12 world premières. Pierre Boulez and Olga Neuwirth are composers-in-residence. 130 compositions from the 20th and 21st centuries. For the first time there are five orchestras-in-residence, each with three symphony concerts: the Berlin PO, the Chicago SO, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Los Angeles PO and the Vienna PO. Co-production with Lucerne Theater: Olga Neuwirth's Bählamms Fest. Patricia Kopatchinskaya (violin) receives the Credit Suisse Group's Young Artist Award. LUCERNE FESTIVAL, PIANO includes eight recitals reflecting the full spectrum of music on black and white keys: classical, jazz, contemporary music, solo recitals, piano duos and a program with six pianos.
2001
In March the IMF is officially renamed "LUCERNE FESTIVAL", an umbrella term for the OSTERN, SOMMER and PIANO. LUCERNE FESTIVAL, OSTERN features premières of works by Krzysztof Penderecki and Wofgang Rihm. LUCERNE FESTIVAL, SOMMER opens with a pyrotechnic spectacle, "KKL in Flames."The Festival theme is "Creation"; a Prometheus cycle and a symposium are featured, as is the Swiss première of Luigi Nono's Prometeo. The artiste étoile is violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, the composers-in-residence Elliott Carter and Hanspeter Kyburz. 28 symphony concerts. For the first time the Festival has an "orchestra-in-residence": the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, from Lucerne's sister city, gives three concerts. The Credit Suisse's Young Artist Prize is awarded to Sol Gabetta (cello).