A Captivating Maestro

Pablo Heras-Casado Returns to Lucerne – and Conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra for the First Time

Lucerne is a place that has decisively shaped or even launched quite a few musical careers. Anne-Sophie Mutter is probably the best-known example. She made her debut at the Festival in 1976 when she was only 13. Her performance became the talk of the town. Herbert von Karajan was thrilled after he asked the young violinist to audition and took her under his wing. And so a star was born. The dazzling career of cellist Sol Gabetta got a jump start when she won both the “Prix Credit Suisse Jeunes Solistes” (2001) and the “Credit Suisse Young Artist Award” (2004), which included the opportunity to perform with the Vienna Philharmonic at Lucerne Festival.

Pablo Heras-Casado might also be mentioned in this connection. In the summer of 2007, he attended the Lucerne Festival Academy’s masterclass in conducting and was chosen by Pierre Boulez for the closing public concert. Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Gruppen was on the program: a tricky work that requires three conductors who have to balance precisely with one another in an unparalleled feat of coordination. Heras-Casado immediately came to the attention of a renowned artists’ agency, which went on to sign the young Spaniard. Further invitations to Lucerne quickly ensued.

Further invitations to Lucerne quickly ensued. He returned to the Lucerne Festival Academy as a guest conductor in 2012, 2013, and 2015. In 2013, to celebrate the Festival’s 75th anniversary, he also gave a brilliant performance with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra of Beethoven’s Fifth, which was bursting with energy.

Pablo Heras-Casado has enjoyed a stellar career since then. He conducts the leading orchestras, from Berlin, Vienna, and Amsterdam to San Francisco, and has a close association with the Teatro Real in Madrid as well as the period ensemble Anima Eterna Brugge, devoting himself to an expansive repertoire that ranges widely, from Monteverdi to contemporary music. Heras-Casado focuses on the music of the early 19th century, on which he concentrates in particular with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra; together they have made numerous acclaimed recordings of Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Schumann.

In his hands, these works sound fiery, powerful, sometimes even rugged, but at the same time incredibly clear and colorful. In other words: as fresh as when they were composed. So it will be exciting to experience Pablo Heras-Casado’s artistry when he returns to Lucerne on 24 March to lead the Lucerne Festival Orchestra for the first time. He will conduct Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Violin Concerto at the conclusion of this year’s Spring Festival. Joining him will be the emerging young star violinist from Sweden, Daniel Lozakovich, who will celebrate his Festival debut.