Lucerne
Summer Festival
From 21 August to 26 August 2026
Type of stay

Musical journeys

Availability

Inscriptions ouvertes

Price

From €5,530 per person

Welcome to paradise. A radiant lake, idyllic mountains, an enchanting old town and, above all, an exceptional music festival. At the height of August, Lucerne assumes the air of an earthly Eden. Since 1333, the wooden Chapel Bridge has stood as the city’s graceful emblem. Summer invites lingering along the lakeside, perhaps a boat excursion to admire the unforgettable mountain horizon, or the ascent by the cogwheel railway to Mount Rigi.

 

Ideally situated beside Lake Lucerne, the Culture and Congress Centre designed by Jean Nouvel forms the epicentre of the Lucerne Festival. This summer once again welcomes leading singers such as Cecilia Bartoli, conductors including Iván Fischer and Jakub Hrůša, and violinists such as Augustin Hadelich and Anne-Sophie Mutter.

 

A stay defined by refinement, serenity and delight.

 

 

Credit photo : Budapest Festival Orchestra (c) Marco Borggreve

 

The program
Budapest Festival Orchestra | Iván Fischer
Saturday 22 August 2026
Lucerne Festival Orchestra | Jakub Hrůša | Ray Chen
Saturday 22 August 2026
Orfeo ed Euridice, by C. W. Gluck
Sunday 23 August 2026
Augustin Hadelich | Seong-Jin Cho
Monday 24 August 2026
Lucerne Festival Orchestra | Anne-Sophie Mutter
Tuesday 25 August 2026
Friday 21 August 2026

Independent arrival in Lucerne. Independent transfer and check-in.

SATURDAY 22 AUGUST 2026

11:00 a.m., at KKL Luzern, Lucerne Hall:

BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA | IVÁN FISCHER

Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer

 

Conductor

 

Programme:

—S. Prokofiev: Suite from Cinderella, Op. 87, arranged by Iván Fischer.

 

Once upon a time there was a gentle and kind young girl. Alas, her stepmother and two stepsisters treated her as a servant. One day, the King announces a ball to which all the young maidens of the kingdom are invited, yet the girl’s stepmother forbids her to attend. The tale is, of course, Cinderella, here set to music by Prokofiev. Following the success of Romeo and Juliet, the Soviet composer deploys astonishing narrative mastery and emotional depth. By his own admission, Prokofiev wished in this ballet that ‘the spectator should see in the artists not merely characters who dance, but men and women who feel and experience human emotions’. Moments of brilliance abound in this 1945 score: the cruel portrayal of the stepsisters, the languorous waltz, the twelve ominous strokes of midnight. Under Iván Fischer’s splendid direction at the head of his Budapest Festival Orchestra, this irresistible music, rich in choreographic impulse, springs vividly to life.

 

 

 

 

 

6:30 p.m., at KKL Luzern, Concert Hall:

LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA | JAKUB HRŮŠA | RAY CHEN

Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Jakub Hrůša

 

Conductor

 

Ray Chen

 

Violin

 

Programme:

E. W. Korngold: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35;

R. Strauss: An Alpine Symphony, op. 64.

 

A rising figure on the podium, born in 1981, Jakub Hrůša first drew international attention through remarkable achievements with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany. Since then, the Czech conductor’s ascent has continued steadily. As a successor to Antonio Pappano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, he becomes only the second Czech conductor in history, after Rafael Kubelík, to lead the prestigious London opera house. According to Christian Merlin, music critic of Le Figaro, Hrůša distinguishes himself through a lyricism that ‘allows phrases to sing through to their natural conclusion’. Equally at ease in operatic and symphonic repertoire, the Moravian-born musician has recently been appointed Music Director of the Czech Philharmonic, a logical culmination of an exceptional trajectory. Although certain details of the programme remain to be confirmed, his concert will stand worthy alongside those conducted at the head of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra by Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Chailly. Jakub Hrůša undoubtedly represents a major artistic force in the making.

 

SUNDAY 23 AUGUST 2026

5:00 p.m., at KKL Luzern, Concert Hall:

ORFEO ED EURIDICE, by C. W. Gluck

Les Musiciens du Prince — Monaco

Vocal Ensemble Il canto di Orfeo

Gianluca Capuano

 

Conductor

 

Cecilia Bartoli Orfeo
Mélissa Petit

 

Euridice and Amore

 

Of Orfeo ed Euridice, the wider public chiefly recalls the celebrated aria, ‘Che farò senza Euridice.’ Yet Gluck’s opera constitutes a genuine musical revolution in the eighteenth century, liberating orchestral colour and forging a bold synthesis of European traditions. In its Italian version, Cecilia Bartoli draws profound substance from this astonishing portrayal of human emotion, at once natural and powerfully expressive. The Roman diva descends into the underworld to liberate Mélissa Petit’s Euridice, accompanied by her faithful Musiciens du Prince – Monaco and Il Canto di Orfeo under Gianluca Capuano. Mozart’s admiration for Gluck becomes readily comprehensible: this Orfeo ed Euridice strikes directly at the heart.

 

MONDAY 24 AUGUST 2026

7:30 p.m., at KKL Luzern, Concert Hall:

AUGUSTIN HADELICH | SEONG-JIN CHO

Augustin Hadelich Violin
Seong-Jin Cho

 

Piano

 

Programme:
–J. Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, op. 78;– L. Janáček: Violin Sonata;—A. Beach: Romance for Violin and Piano, op. 23;

—S. Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, op. 94a.

 

A remarkable pairing. The programme unites not one but two leading figures of classical music. On the violin, Augustin Hadelich has established himself as one of the most compelling American soloists of his generation, distinguished by impeccable technique and purity of intonation. His life bears witness to extraordinary resilience: severely injured in a fire at his family farm, he temporarily abandoned the violin before returning to win the 2006 Indianapolis International Violin Competition. Since then, his career has led him to the world’s foremost stages and into collaboration with the finest chamber partners, including the Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, First Prize winner of the prestigious Chopin Competition in 2015. Their artistry promises an intense Brahms Sonata and some lyricism at once rugged and energetic in the jubilant works of Janáček and Prokofiev.

 

TUESDAY 25 AUGUST 2026

7:30 p.m., at KKL Luzern, Concert Hall:

LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA | ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER

Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Anne-Sophie Mutter Violin and musical direction
Knut Johannessen

 

Harpsichord

 

Programme:

—W. A. Mozart: Divertimento in F major, K. 138 (125 c);

– A. Previn: Violin Concerto No. 2 for Violin and String Orchestra with Two Harpsichord Interludes;

—W. A. Mozart: Violin Concerto in B-flat major, K. 207;

– A. Darvishi : Likoo for Solo Violin – Swiss première;

– W. A. Mozart : Violin Concerto in A major, K. 219.

 

‘This is the revelation of the century,’ declared Herbert von Karajan when he auditioned Anne-Sophie Mutter at the age of thirteen. Alongside the legendary Austrian conductor, the German violinist notably recorded the Mozart Concertos for Deutsche Grammophon. In Lucerne, Anne-Sophie Mutter returns to the works of the divine Wolfgang, each a miracle of grace and melodic elegance. On the stage of the Culture and Congress Centre, she will also demonstrate the evolution of her artistry and repertoire through the presentation of a new work by the Iranian-born composer Aftab Darvishi, as well as a concerto by André Previn, the distinguished conductor and composer to whom she was formerly married.

 

Your Accommodation
SCHWEIZERHOF *****

The Schweizerhof Lucerne stands facing Lake Lucerne in a rare position that unites the Alpine panorama with immediate proximity to the Old Town. A short walk from the Konzertsaal, it provides an ideal anchor for a musical stay, combining historic elegance with contemporary comfort. The lake-facing rooms selected extend the experience through generous light and an uninterrupted dialogue with water and mountains.

Price per person
Package in double Lifestyle Living Suite

€5,490 per person

 

The price includes: accommodation in a double room with breakfast for five nights • city tax • concert tickets • repatriation assistance.

The price does not include: personal expenses • transport • airport transfers.

 

Individual stay.

Transport and transfers upon request.

Package in double Lifestyle Living Suite for single occupancy

€8,650 per person

 

The price includes: accommodation in a double room with breakfast for five nights • city tax • concert tickets • repatriation assistance.

The price does not include: personal expenses • transport • airport transfers.

 

Individual stay.

Transport and transfers upon request.

Information about this trip
In charge of the destination
Pauline Heckly
Share
Our most
recent trips
error: Content is protected !!