Widmann Appointed to the Roche Commission 2028
Composer, clarinetist, and conductor Jörg Widmann has been awarded the 2028 composition commission, which Roche awards each year as part of the Lucerne Festival.
Photo: Marco Borggreve
Born in Munich in 1973, Jörg Widmann first studied clarinet and then composition with Kay Westermann, Wilfried Hiller, Hans Werner Henze, Heiner Goebbels, and Wolfgang Rihm. His works are premiered and regularly performed by the world’s leading orchestras, such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Kent Nagano, Christian Thielemann, Sir Simon Rattle, and Andris Nelsons bring his music to stages around the world.
Roche Commissions is a collaboration between Roche, the Lucerne Festival, and the Lucerne Festival Academy. Since 2003, Roche has commissioned a new work by an outstanding contemporary composer every two years, based on recommendations from the artistic director of the Lucerne Festival Academy. The commissions aim to facilitate the creation of musical works «that go beyond the conventional and offer a source of intellectual stimulation and challenge.».
The composer collaborates with several leading scientists from Roche, and after two years, the commissioned work premieres at the Lucerne Festival in the summer. The Roche Commissions originated as a partnership between Roche, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall. The program is now carried on in collaboration with the Lucerne Festival and the Lucerne Festival Academy.
