Lucerne Festival 2024: Highlights from Bruckner to a Georgian Prodigy

A lone horn call, a brief, mighty climax with the full orchestra playing fortissimo—this is how Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No 7 concludes. On Wednesday, the 200th anniversary of Bruckner’s birth, the abrupt ending of his symphony—a single terse chord followed by an empty bar—might leave live audiences momentarily unsure. However, a keen “bravo” often promptly confirms that the performance has indeed finished.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conducting the Lucerne Festival Orchestra at the KKL concert hall in Lucerne last weekend, managed something exceptional. He delivered a transparent, flowing, yet never hurried performance, transforming Bruckner’s finale into more than a mere exuberant close of a big romantic work. The momentum was so urgent, so intense, it provided a glimpse into the abyss, revealing Bruckner as radical and daring. Silence was the only retort. With arms aloft, Nézet-Séguin defied anyone—whether in the orchestra or audience—to move. As still as at the conclusion of a Bach Passion, the audience only erupted into a standing ovation after he dropped his arms.

Might this seem excessive attention for just 20 bars of music? Perhaps. Yet, Nézet-Séguin and his players merit such scrutiny. The Canadian conductor, currently music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, is among the very top-rated conductors globally. At the month-long Lucerne festival, one of Europe’s oldest events, he was a warmly received guest of the orchestra. The ensemble, consisting of first-class musicians including orchestral principals, chamber players, and soloists, gather every summer to perform at the highest levels.

In the same concert, Italian pianist Beatrice Rana, who has previously recorded with Nézet-Séguin, showcased a nuanced and perceptive performance of Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto.

Later that night, numerous events took place throughout Lucerne, many of them free, across various venues. The British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, one of this year’s featured artists, gave a duo recital with Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes. The intimate Lucerne theatre, with its low lights, proved ideal for their late-night program with a South American emphasis. Opening with Heitor Villa-Lobos’s “Aria (Cantilena)” from Bachianas Brasileiras No 5, they concluded with pieces from Astor Piazzolla’s “Histoire du Tango,” performing specially arranged repertoire in between. Their collaboration, marked by the free exchange of instruments and equal voices, was both novel and rewarding. Rafael Marino Arcaro’s “Elegie à une mémoire oubliée,” written for them, was delicate and affecting. All three musicians studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music.

The visible part of this Swiss festival is the glamorous lineup of orchestras and soloists. However, the festival’s cornerstone, fundamental to its purpose and vision, remains largely unseen. The Lucerne Festival Academy, along with the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, was founded by Pierre Boulez and the festival’s director Michael Haefliger and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. It attracts young composers, conductors, and musicians globally—around 100 annually—supporting them financially and giving them the space to experiment.

Concerts are given in a workshop-style format and discussions are held. The main message from the Swiss composer Dieter Ammann, running the academy in the absence of Wolfgang Rihm who passed away July, was to listen without analysis. This advice was vital when hearing four new orchestral works, with four different conductors, alongside three chamber performances by various players within two days, resembling a highly enjoyable Mensa test. Among the lineup were the British conductor Joséphine Korda and the British-German composer Eden Lonsdale, both with growing reputations.

The last concert attended was a recital by the Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili, another festival star. She was joined by two grant holders from her foundation, set up in 2021 to support musicians from her homeland. The 23-year-old Giorgi Gigashvili, a BBC New Generation artist with many international awards, was a sensitive partner to Batiashvili in César Franck’s Violin Sonata.

The other young talent was Tsotne Zedginidze, who recently turned 15. Despite his young age, his CV includes associations with prestigious names like Brendel, Rattle, Pappano, and Barenboim. This prodigious composer-pianist performed a lively, virtuosic, toccata-like piece of his own, as well as preludes by Debussy, and joined Batiashvili for Debussy’s Violin Sonata. Though musically confident, Zedginidze remains modest, still studying with his grandmother. It’s clear we will watch his progress eagerly.

At Zedginidze’s age, the late Alexander Goehr, who had the brilliance to choose nearly any profession, opted to become a composer. His father, Walter, who studied with Arnold Schoenberg, cautioned him against this path in vain. Goehr, who altered the British musical landscape alongside Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle, passed away last week at 92.

As a professor of music at Cambridge, Goehr left a legacy of fine compositions and taught a generation of composers, including Thomas Adès, Julian Anderson, and George Benjamin. Benjamin will be engaging with young composers in Lucerne this week, possibly poignantly aware of his seniority in a lineage that traces back to Bruckner.

Source: The Guardian, Lucerne Festival