You’ll find music wherever you go in Lucerne. Whether classical, blues or rock – Lucerne, the city of music, delights with lively festivals of international appeal all year round. One of these festivals is undoubtedly considered the highlight of Lucerne’s event agenda: the Lucerne Festival. 

Alongside the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Festival is one of the most important classical music events in the world, with festivals in spring, summer and autumn. The central festival in summer from mid-August to mid-September offers around 100 concerts and additional events. A diverse range of concert formats is offered: symphony concerts, chamber music, recitals, family concerts and much more. Every summer, the most renowned international symphony orchestras and soloists make guest appearances at Lake Lucerne, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic or the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. 

The first two weeks of the summer festival will be dominated by the symphony concerts of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Originally founded by Arturo Toscanini, the orchestra was revived 65 years later by Claudio Abbado and artistic director Michael Haefliger. Riccardo Chailly has been its principal conductor since 2016. The Lucerne Festival Academy, founded in 2003 by Pierre Boulez and Michael Haefliger, has been headed by artistic director Wolfgang Rihm since 2016. With the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO), which joins together musicians from the Academy network, the festival has its own orchestra for contemporary music. 

Born in Berlin in 1961, Michael Haefliger began his career as a concert violinist and later became artistic director of the Lucerne Festival, where he has been responsible for numerous innovative concert formats and initiatives since 1999. He has expanded the festival’s commitment to contemporary music and young musicians. One of his key projects is the world’s first mobile concert hall “Ark Nova”, which he developed together with architect Arata Isozaki and artist Anish Kapoor. 

Lucerne’s deep connection to music is demonstrated not only by festivals and events, but also by outstanding musical institutions. One of them is the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. It is one of the leading orchestras in Switzerland and the oldest symphony orchestra in the country. Founded in 1806, it is now firmly anchored in the music city of Lucerne, with several concert cycles and the “Le piano symphonique” piano festival. The orchestra is led by Michael Sanderling as principal conductor and Numa Bischof Ullmann as artistic director. 

Born in Basel, he has been the artistic director of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra since 2004 and has transformed it into one of the leading orchestras in Switzerland. He increased the orchestra’s size, established a foundation and promoted the engagement of the principal conductors Michael Sanderling and James Gaffigan. Today, the orchestra performs internationally and produces recordings for first-class labels.

For Numa Bischof Ullmann, Lucerne is a uniquely glittering city of music not only because of its impressive musical past, but also through the many sounds and melodies that the city itself has to offer. As the artistic director of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, for example, he experiences the music first hand when the orchestra is rehearsing before the concert and the tension and anticipation is palpable. 

Lucerne is not a city full of music in the concert hall, but also far beyond. The melodies of the Reuss River and Lake Lucerne, the majestic mountains in the background and the enchanting old town all inspire and excite Numa Bischof Ullmann and show that music is indeed omnipresent in Lucerne.

Lucerne is a city with a deep connection to classical music. Composers and conductors such as Sergei Rachmaninoff and Arturo Toscanini settled in Lucerne for some time and composed parts of their works here. Rachmaninoff even had a villa built for himself in Hertenstein, which numerous guests from all over the world visit to this day. Composer Felix Mendelssohn also visited Lucerne a total of three times, for the last time shortly before his death in 1847.

Richard Wagner had a particularly close relationship with Lucerne: One of the most renowned composers in music history, he spent six years of his life in Lucerne. During this time, he lived in the Tribschen country house by Lake Lucerne, which can now be visited as the Richard Wagner Museum. The collection includes photographs, paintings, scores and letters that tell the story of the artist’s life and work. The estate is still used for musical performances today.

In Lucerne, music is celebrated in a setting that does justice to the musical significance of this city: the Lucerne Culture and Congress Centre (KKL Luzern), an architectural masterpiece whose 1,800-seat concert hall is one of the most impressive in the world. Every year, the KKL Luzern inspires over 500,000 visitors. Its elegant architecture, designed by French star architect Jean Nouvel, captivates the public. The concert hall offers top class acoustics and perfect sound quality. Incidentally, the KKL will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023.