Sat, 21.11.2026
Forward Festival: Schumannliebe 5

Schumann “was almost always central to my work,” confesses Heinz Holliger. And the same is true for Friedrich Hölderlin, another artist in crisis, whom society labeled “mentally ill.” For Holliger, however, both are “not at all crazy. Rather, visionary. They simply have far greater sensitivity.” In his “Songs of Dawn,” he takes up Schumann’s late piano cycle of the same name and interweaves it with Hölderlin poems, diary entries, letters, and the autopsy reports of both artists to create a haunting psychological portrait. Aribert Reimann, who died in 2024, inherited Schumann’s medical records from the Bonn-Endenich psychiatric hospital as a distant relative of his doctor at the time—and explored the composer’s final phase of life in an orchestral piece. In addition, there are three solo pieces by György Kurtág, transcribed by Holliger for large orchestra—a tribute to Kurtág's 100th birthday. Also included is an original Schumann: the Nachtlied (Night Song), which Holliger takes up in his Gesänge der Frühe (Songs of Dawn), evokes the menacing side of the night before sleep draws its "protective circle."

Performers:
Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO),
SWR Vokalensemble,
Heinz Holliger, conductor.

Program:
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Nachtlied for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 108;

Aribert Reimann (1936–2024)
Seven Fragments for Orchestra in memoriam Robert Schumann

; György Kurtág (*1926) / Heinz Holliger (*1939)
Three Little Pieces for Large Orchestra. Orchestral transcriptions of the pieces … for Heinz …, In memoriam Anna Holliger and Anna Holliger in memoriam
World premiere

Heinz Holliger (*1939)
Songs of Dawn after Schumann and Hölderlin for choir, orchestra and tape

Tickets available from August 4th | 10:00 AM (CET)