Sat, August 29, 2026
Summer Festival: Lucerne Festival Academy 4

The piercing call of the carnyx likely echoed across Lake Lucerne more than 2,000 years ago, when Celtic tribes settled in Central Switzerland. Liza Lim has composed a concerto for this ancient, nearly two-meter-long bronze trumpet, exploring "how human and non-human creativity from long-gone eras lives on in bodies, cultural artifacts, and the deep time of places, carrying within it seeds of resilience but also potential dangers." Far less exotic is the second solo instrument of the evening, the clarinet. Yet composer-in-residence Mark Andre coaxes from it—inspired by extensive sound experiments with Jörg Widmann—a multitude of entirely new sounds. From key clicks, electronically altered air tones, and fragile chords, a delicate music emerges, teetering on the brink of silence. Finally, this festival evening also takes us to America: In his opera Doctor Atomic, which he has condensed into a vibrantly colorful symphony for the concert hall, John Adams explores the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the first atomic bomb test in New Mexico.

Program:
5:30 p.m. Pre-concert talk: Liza Lim and Mark Andre in conversation with Mark Sattler.

Mark Andre (*1964)
on music for clarinet, orchestra, and live electronics.

Liza Lim (*1966)
Tongue of the Land. Concerto for orchestra with Carnyx. World
premiere of "Roche Commissions".

John Adams (*1947)
Doctor Atomic Symphony for orchestra.

Intermission at approximately 7:40 p.m.

Tickets available from March 24, 2026 | 10:00 AM (CET)