Wed, August 19, 2026
Summer Festival: Lucerne Festival Orchestra 4

This ensemble is legendary! When the brass players of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, led by trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich and trombonist Jörgen van Rijen, unite to form a brass band, the atmosphere quickly reaches fever pitch. This is especially true for this summer's performance, which follows the theme "American Dreams." Gershwin's "Strike Up the Band" immediately provides a surge of good cheer and swing. And by the time the suite from Bernstein's "West Side Story" begins, there's no holding back. The greatest hits from this evergreen are, of course, included: "Mambo," "Somewhere," and "America," whose lyrics sound surprisingly relevant today: "Life can be bright in America / If you can fight in America. / Life is all right in America / If you're all-white in America." A moment of reflection is provided by the most famous American funeral music, Barber's Adagio, which is performed in memory of the ensemble's tuba player, Thomas Keller, who passed away last autumn. The program begins with Amy Beach's enchanting Piano Quintet: elegiac and dreamy, reminiscent of Brahms, it simply goes straight to the heart.

Performers:
Soloists and Brass Ensemble of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra
, Piano.

Program:
Amy Beach (1867–1944)
Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 67;

George Gershwin (1898–1937)
Strike Up the Band, arranged for Brass Ensemble by Manfred Honetschläger;

Samuel Barber (1910–1981)
Adagio from String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 11, arranged for Brass Ensemble by Steven Verhaert;

Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)
Suite from West Side Story, arranged for Brass Ensemble by Eric Crees.

Intermission at approximately 8:05 p.m.

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