With a world-class acoustic, and in an idyllic location perched on the edge of Lake Lugano, it’s no surprise that Lugano’s LAC concert hall has quickly become a go-to spot for major soloists and orchestras. The 2024–25 season, the ninth held at the venue so far, is no exception, with a starry collection of soloists and ensembles appearing in this captivating corner of Switzerland.
After LuganoMusica’s opening concert from Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Italian pianist Beatrice Rana appears in mid-October with a solo recital – her first at Lugano since 2019. Climaxing with highlights from Ravel’s piano compositions (Gaspard de la Nuit and the composer’s transcription of La Valse) Rana also performs Mendelssohn and Brahms, music by the latter being a fixture of this early part of the Lugano season. At the beginning of November, Janine Jansen performs a series of Brahms’ Violin Sonatas with pianist Sunwook Kim, followed later by Kirill Gerstein, with Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto and First Symphony.
After a festive programme from the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic at the beginning of December, Lugano sees a rare visit from renowned pianist Maria João Pires, who performs Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Festival Strings Lucerne, led by Daniel Dodds. Also on the programme is music from Florence Price, arranged for string orchestra, as well as Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony.
Shostakovich appears in January 2025, the year marking the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death, in an all-Russian programme led from the piano by Lahav Shani, who performs Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto alongside selections from Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. A few days later, Lugano sees another concert led from the keyboard: Andrea Marcon directing La Cetra Barockorchester Basel in a spicy programme of Vivaldi, Geminiani and Handel, certain to illuminate the latter’s turbulent Italian side.
February sees a trio of contrasting string quartet concerts, illustrating how vital the form remains in the present. The US-based JACK Quartet perform first, in a fascinating modern programme including John Cage, Heinz Holliger and the exquisitely delicate sounds of German composer Eva-Maria Houben. This programme is contrasted by two more traditional selections from Quatuor Modigliani and the Carmina Quartet, each structured around the single quartets of Ravel and Debussy respectively.
Chamber music is also at the centre of the Lugano season the following month, when cellist Gautier Capuçon appears with young laureates from his eponymous foundation to perform Schumann’s and Brahms’ Piano Quartets. (The performers get even younger two days later with the multiple-youth-orchestra Superar Suisse, with programme yet to be announced.)
Early 2025 in Lugano is also a choice moment for Bach fans, with the Austrian period-instrument Ensemble Claudiana appearing with the Vienna Boys’ Choir for a series of Bach cantatas at the end of February, led by Luca Pianca. A few weeks later, French virtuoso Alexandre Tharaud’s solo recital includes a series of Bach’s suites and transcriptions, contrasted with music from Bach’s great French contemporary, Jean-Philippe Rameau.
Spring sees a series of chamber duos at Lugano, from a series of starry names: Leonidas Kavakos appears in April with longtime collaborator Enrico Pace for a series of violin sonatas from Beethoven, Shostakovich and Schubert. The following month, violinist Giuseppe Gibonni arrives with pianist Ingmar Lazar to perform more Schubert, juxtaposed with Brahms and colleagues’ collectively written FAE Sonata. It’s not just violin sonatas though: virtuoso double bass player Dominik Wagner arrives at the end of May for a wide-ranging showcase of the instrument, including Piazzolla, Pärt and Mancini, joined by pianist Lauma Skride.
Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe will also be certainly worth catching in May, with a diverse solo programme at Lugano. The recital includes selections from Scottish lute manuscripts, set against a new commission from Thomas Adès, appropriately titled Forgotten Dances, together with guitar highlights from Villa-Lobos and Ginastera. Another striking anonymous manuscript is performed the following month: the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (the Red Book of Monserrat), a remarkable collection of late-medieval sacred and secular songs, in a semi-staged performance by Coro Clairière del Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana.
Late spring at Lugano sees visits from two major orchestras. The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, conducted by Daniele Gatti, appear at the end of May, with Christian Tetzlaff performing Beethoven’s luminous Violin Concerto (also on the programme is the “Eroica” Third Symphony). Then in June, Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra and pianist Nikolai Lugansky in a programme of all-Rs: Rachmaninov, Respighi and Ravel. Clearly Beatrice Rana’s La Valse has echoed right across the Lugano season, with Rouvali conducting its orchestral version six months later.
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This article was sponsored by Fondazione LuganoMusica.