Orchestre e Teatri Lirici
Festival Strings Lucerne
The Festival Strings Lucerne, currently led by the violinist Daniel Dodds, was established as a string orchestra with harpsichord by the Viennese violin legend Wolfgang Schneiderhan and the Swiss conductor and violinist Rudolf Baumgartner. From the start, the ensemble has been committed to developing the noble glow and warmth of the Austro-Hungarian string sound tradition. Dodds, who was appointed
The Festival Strings Lucerne, currently led by the violinist Daniel Dodds, was established as a string orchestra with harpsichord by the Viennese violin legend Wolfgang Schneiderhan and the Swiss conductor and violinist Rudolf Baumgartner. From the start, the ensemble has been committed to developing the noble glow and warmth of the Austro-Hungarian string sound tradition. Dodds, who was appointed artistic director in 2012, leads the orchestra from the concertmaster’s chair, continuing the example set by Baumgartner. Daniel Dodds has particularly extended the scope of the ensemble, adding instruments as required, to facilitate performances of midsize symphonic repertoire. During 2023/24 season Festival Strings Lucerne plays more than 50 concerts in the USA, Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Turkiye), and Asia (Singapore, China, South Korea).
The orchestra, whose repertoire ranges from baroque music to the contemporary, has premiered over one hundred works by such composers as Jean Françaix, Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinů, Sándor Veress, Iannis Xenakis, and Krzystof Penderecki. The ensemble has recently collaborated with soloists as Daniil Trifonov, Hélène Grimaud, Maria João Pires, Rudolf Buchbinder, Midori, and Gautier Capuçon.
The Festival Strings Lucerne has a long history of distinguished recordings, first on the Deutsche Grammophon label, with later recordings released by Decca, Eurodisc, Denon, Sony Classical, Pentatone, and Warner Classics. These include such memorable studio collaborations as with Clara Haskil performing Mozart, Pierre Fournier performing Haydn, Zino Francescatti playing Bach, and recently Midori playing Beethoven.