Lucerne Sets Mozart and Ólafsson at the Centre of Spring 2027

Lucerne Festival has put two different ideas of spring programming side by side for 2027. Its Spring series, from 19 to 21 March, is devoted to Mozart and especially his final three symphonies and Requiem. Pulse follows from 6 to 9 May, with pianist Víkingur Ólafsson returning as artistic director under the theme Spirit & Matter. The pairing gives audiences a concentrated encounter with the classical canon and a more exploratory set of musical relationships.

Robin Ticciati will make his debut with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra on 19 March, conducting the Symphony No. 39 and the Requiem with the MDR Radio Choir. Jörg Widmann, artistic director of the festival academy, will make his first appearance with the orchestra on 21 March. His programme brings together Symphonies Nos. 40 and 41, the latter known as Jupiter, and the Violin Concerto No. 5 with Christian Tetzlaff. Between the orchestral concerts, brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen will make their festival debut in a two-piano recital ranging beyond Mozart to Brahms, Lutosławski, Fauré, Ravel and Gershwin.

Ólafsson’s Pulse takes a different route. The pianist is due to appear as soloist, chamber musician and conductor, including an encounter with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The festival links its emphasis on American minimalism to anniversary years for Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams. Other artists announced include guitarist Sean Shibe, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and pianist Joep Beving.

The design of two short festivals asks listeners to enter a theme intensively rather than sampling a long season. Mozart is examined through late works and varied performers; Pulse treats programming itself as a conversation about sound, time and perception. Tickets for the May series are scheduled to become available on 24 November.