Focus on America at the Lucerne Festival
Sebastian Nordmann has presented his first summer program. The festival wants to become more relevant, but wants the controversial topic to be understood in purely musical terms.
It has been known for two and a half years that Sebastian Nordmann would succeed Michael Haefliger at the Lucerne Festival. The former director of the Konzerthaus Berlin officially took over as Artistic Director on January 1, 2026 and was invited to the media conference at the KKL to present the program. Although his predecessor had not planned anything in terms of content, the Foundation Board had set two clear guidelines: The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Lucerne Festival Academy were to be continued. In addition to ensuring artistic excellence, Nordmann is expected above all to make the festival more relevant. This was emphasized by Markus Hongler, President of the Board of Trustees, in his welcoming address.
Dreams without nightmares
The music festival should therefore have an even stronger impact on society. Against this backdrop, it was surprising how reserved Sebastian Nordmann was about this year's theme «American Dreams» - especially in view of the current political developments in the USA. At the media conference, the new artistic director deliberately stuck to the music. The motto emerged two years ago in a conversation with Riccardo Chailly, chief conductor of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, who wanted an American focus. As a result, the opening concert on August 14 will feature Charles Ives‘ Symphony No. 1 as well as George Gershwin's Concerto in F for piano (soloist: Frank Dupree) and orchestra. The program is complemented by Gershwin's Cuban Overture and Steve Reichs New York Counterpoint for eleven clarinets. But can the positively connoted «American Dreams» be left uncommented while many Americans are currently experiencing massive state violence as a nightmare? «We don't want to take a position on party politics or economic policy,» answers Nordmann in a personal conversation. «What is important to us are the American dreams that were expressed, for example, in the music of George Gershwin or in the minimal music of Steve Reich and John Adams.» The artists were invited because of their art - from Yo-Yo Ma and Hilary Hahn to the poet Amanda Gorman.
The music should speak for itself
He does not want to offer a forum for party politics, but rather remain in dialog and build bridges. According to Nordmann, the festival stands for democratic and humanistic values. But how can this claim be fulfilled without taking a clear political stance, when in the USA it is hardly about party politics anymore, but about the fundamental threat to democracy? Nordmann answers: «I think it would be wrong for cultural institutions to say what is right or wrong in terms of party politics. We want to be for something, not against something. Anyone who advocates hatred and violence will not perform with us. We want to support the orchestras and artists from the USA here. And show them that we hear and see them,» says Nordmann. American music should therefore stand for itself - and there is plenty of it this summer, from John Adams to Frank Zappa, from Leonard Bernstein to Aron Copeland. The artist-in-residence is Augustin Hadelich, who lives in the USA and will be performing four different programs, including the violin concertos by Samuel Barber and Ludwig van Beethoven as well as a Fiddle Night. Anne-Sophie Mutter, whose career began at the age of 13 at the Lucerne International Music Festival, celebrates her 50th stage anniversary with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Penderecki's 2nd Violin Concerto, among others, but also has an American program with André Previn's 2nd Violin Concerto.
Connections and innovations
Last summer, Jörg Widmann was introduced as the successor to the late Wolfgang Rihm as director of the Lucerne Festival Academy. With his conducting of Wolfgang Rihm's «monstrous» (Widmann's own words) orchestral work Tutuguri a link is made to its predecessor. The fragile music of composer-in-residence Mark Andre, which Widmann raves about, sounds completely different. There are innovations at the Lucerne Festival, which presents 20 symphony orchestras and 120 events, particularly in the area of communication. With the «Mittendrin» format brought over from Berlin, you can take a seat in the orchestra, and under the motto «Luege Lose Erläbe», a child or young person receives an accompanying ticket for 10 francs at every concert. Two free opening events at the KKL and open air on Europaplatz are designed to whet the appetite for the festival, which is two days shorter than last year. With «Orchestrating the moment», the festival has come up with an emotional claim. Will this be enough to make it more relevant?
