Lucerne Festival today released the program for Lucerne Festival Spring

The program for Lucerne Festival Spring, which will take place from 27 to 29 March 2026, was announced today. The concerts will be performed by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Franz Welser-Möst will conduct the Opening Concert on Friday, 27 March, while Music Director Riccardo Chailly will ascend the podium on Sunday, 29 March. The members of the Hagen Quartet, who were among the founding musicians of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, will bid farewell to Swiss concert stages with a chamber music evening on Saturday, 28 March. Among the featured soloists, Lucerne Festival will welcome pianist Leif Ove Andsnes for the Opening Concert, followed by pianist Kirill Gerstein and acclaimed young cellist Julia Hagen, winner of the 2024 UBS Young Artist Award, who captivated audiences last summer with her performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. On Sunday evening, violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian will appear as the soloist.

Highlights of Lucerne Festival’s 2026 Spring Festival
Franz Welser-Möst will open the Festival on Friday evening with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, the Eroica. On Sunday, Riccardo Chailly continues the Beethoven focus with a performance of the Symphony No. 4. Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes will appear on Friday as the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor, K. 466, while violinist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian will perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto on Sunday. For more than four decades, the Hagen Quartet has ranked among the most sought-after ensembles in the world and was featured at Lucerne Festival in the summer of 2011 as quartet-in-residence. On Saturday evening, the Hagens will give their final concert in Switzerland. Joining them will be cellist Julia Hagen, representing the youngest generation of the Hagen family, along with pianist Kirill Gerstein. Their program will feature Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, and Schubert’s String Quintet in C major, D 956.

Tickets for Lucerne Festival Spring will go on sale beginning on 9 December 2025 at 10:00 am (Swiss time). Complete program details are now available under: lucernefestival.ch/program/spring

Jörg G. Bucherer-Foundation – Main Sponsor Lucerne Festival Spring