Festival Strings Lucerne
The Festival Strings Lucerne were founded in 1956 by Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Rudolf Baumgartner as a string ensemble with harpsichord. Today, the orchestra is one of Europe's leading chamber orchestras, with a broad, symphonically influenced repertoire that, for several years now, has been consistently performed without a conductor.
The Festival Strings Lucerne are regular guests in Europe's most prestigious concert halls, including the Vienna Musikverein and the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. In Lucerne, the orchestra, in an expanded formation, presents its own concert series at the KKL Luzern and a chamber music series at the Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern, and performs annually at the world-renowned Lucerne Festival.
Since 2012, the orchestra has been under the artistic direction of Daniel Dodds. His musical vision is based on an ensemble culture in which every musician contributes to the interpretation with individual responsibility, precision, and passion. This unique approach creates a musical presence brimming with energy that immediately engages and captivates the audience.
A defining characteristic has always been the collaboration with outstanding musical partners, both established figures like Hélène Grimaud, Augustin Hadelich, and Maria João Pires, and the younger generation, including Bruce Liu, Anastasia Kobekina, Jan Lisiecki , and Bomsori. Rudolf Buchbinder and Midori The Festival Strings Lucerne enjoys a particularly close partnership
Their repertoire spans from the Baroque era to the present day; through new arrangements and world premieres of more than one hundred works by composers such as Jean Françaix, Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinů, Sándor Veress, Iannis Xenakis, and Krzysztof Penderecki, the orchestra makes a substantial contribution to expanding the string and chamber orchestra repertoire.
The Festival Strings Lucerne boast a rich discography, were pioneers of Archiv Produktion, Deutsche Grammophon's early music special edition series, and made numerous recordings with stars such as Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Clara Haskil, Pierre Fournier, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Zino Francescatti between the 1950s and 1970s, some of which are still available today. In 2020, the Festival Strings Lucerne released an exemplary Beethoven album with Midori (Warner Classics), followed in 2022 by a Mozart/Righini recording (Sony Classical), and in 2023 by a bestseller, the double album "Femmes" with Raphaela Gromes (Sony Classical).
The Festival Strings Lucerne are regular guests in Europe's most prestigious concert halls, including the Vienna Musikverein and the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. In Lucerne, the orchestra, in an expanded formation, presents its own concert series at the KKL Luzern and a chamber music series at the Hotel Schweizerhof Luzern, and performs annually at the world-renowned Lucerne Festival.
Since 2012, the orchestra has been under the artistic direction of Daniel Dodds. His musical vision is based on an ensemble culture in which every musician contributes to the interpretation with individual responsibility, precision, and passion. This unique approach creates a musical presence brimming with energy that immediately engages and captivates the audience.
A defining characteristic has always been the collaboration with outstanding musical partners, both established figures like Hélène Grimaud, Augustin Hadelich, and Maria João Pires, and the younger generation, including Bruce Liu, Anastasia Kobekina, Jan Lisiecki , and Bomsori. Rudolf Buchbinder and Midori The Festival Strings Lucerne enjoys a particularly close partnership
Their repertoire spans from the Baroque era to the present day; through new arrangements and world premieres of more than one hundred works by composers such as Jean Françaix, Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinů, Sándor Veress, Iannis Xenakis, and Krzysztof Penderecki, the orchestra makes a substantial contribution to expanding the string and chamber orchestra repertoire.
The Festival Strings Lucerne boast a rich discography, were pioneers of Archiv Produktion, Deutsche Grammophon's early music special edition series, and made numerous recordings with stars such as Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Clara Haskil, Pierre Fournier, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Zino Francescatti between the 1950s and 1970s, some of which are still available today. In 2020, the Festival Strings Lucerne released an exemplary Beethoven album with Midori (Warner Classics), followed in 2022 by a Mozart/Righini recording (Sony Classical), and in 2023 by a bestseller, the double album "Femmes" with Raphaela Gromes (Sony Classical).
