August 2018
The Mahler Chamber Orchestra returns to Lucerne again this August for its summer residency at the Lucerne Summer Festival. First invited to form the core of the newly founded Lucerne Festival Orchestra in 2003 by MCO founding mentor Claudio Abbado (1933-2014), the MCO feels at home in this ensemble of international talent, which is dedicated to musical friendship, freedom, and performance in a chamber-music-like style. Under the baton of Riccardo Chailly, who celebrates the 30th anniversary of his debut in Lucerne, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra – as part of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra – performs four concerts in the Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Lucerne (KKL), which was designed by acclaimed architect Jean Nouvel. This concert hall is famous for its exquisite acoustics and architecture, and remains the heart of festival.
The 2018 Lucerne Festival Summer is devoted to the theme of childhood. Throughout this year’s festival, a Leitmotif of fairy tales is clearly present, and offers colourful and charming programming for listeners of all ages. Attention to young audience members is also given at this year’s festival, with many special concerts and ticket offerings for children on the festival programme.
On August 28th the Mahler Chamber Orchestra performs at the festival under the baton of conductor François-Xavier Roth. This concert, which also features festival artiste étoile Sol Gabetta, is a further exploration of the ongoing MCO Sounds of Central Europe theme, which was launched last year in Lucerne with François-Xavier Roth.
