Christian Gerhaher, Sally Matthews, the Capuçon brothers, Leonidas Kavakos: for the second part of his large-scale Brahms cycle with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Bernard Haitink has invited a veritable Olympic team of first-rate soloists to Lucerne. On offer as part of the Easter Festival’s programs are the Double Concerto and the Violin Concerto, along with the first two symphonies and “A German Requiem.”

Bernard Haitink has been following the meteoric career of the brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon from the very start: he got to know cellist Gautier when he was playing with the European Union Youth Orchestra, which Haitink led from 1994 to 2000. And it was Haitink at the podium when violinist Renaud made his Berlin Philharmonic debut in 2002. Attuned to each other like no other musical duo, the Capuçons are thus the ideal partners to realize the Brahms Double Concerto, which they recorded on CD in 2007 and which they perform in Lucerne on 9 April.

Haitink likewise has a history of partnering with Leonidas Kavakos, as in the impressive performance of Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto which they gave during the Zurich Festival last year. On 13 April you can hear the Greek violin virtuoso play Brahms’s Concerto in D major, a hallmark of his repertoire: The “Frankfurter Rundschau” called Kavakos’ interpretation a “revelation,” praising the violinist for “a sound as polished as it is solid, with impeccable intonation and breathtaking virtuosity in the final movement.” The “FAZ” was similarly enthusiastic: “Kavakos belongs to that breed of musicians who are able to concentrate entirely on the musical design, because even in such a demanding composition, instrumental technique simply isn’t an issue.”

And to perform “A German Requiem,” the highpoint of our vernal Brahms festival on 11 April, Haitink has assembled a genuine dream cast. British soprano Sally Matthews is already familiar to LUCERNE FESTIVAL audiences from her collaboration with Haitink in the magnificent performance of the Ninth Symphony during the 2009 Easter Festival, which brought his epic Beethoven cycle to its conclusion. And the award-winning German baritone Christian Gerhaher has proved his credentials as a gifted interpreter of Brahms as well, as heard on his recent recording of “A German Requiem” with the Munich Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann, which the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” deemed to be simply “outstanding.”

That’s not all: If these events don’t satisfy your appetite for Brahms, there are two more opportunities to learn about the composer and the secrets behind interpreting his music: a panel discussion on 9 April as well as a master class in conducting which is being offered by Bernard Haitink from 15 to 17 April. Together with the highly talented young conductors who will participate in the class and the Festival Strings Lucerne, Haitink will work through a reading of Brahms’s Fourth Symphony and other pieces. So 2011 brings reason enough not only to indulge your love of Brahms but to become an expert in his music as well!