Hingehört – schärfen wir unsere Ohren für die Musik des 21. Jahrhunderts!

Bereits zum fünften Mal findet vom 21. bis 23. November 2025 Lucerne Festival Forward statt, unser Herbst-Festival für Gegenwartsmusik. Die experimentierfreudigen jungen Musiker*innen des Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) präsentieren ein breites Panorama ganz gegenwärtiger Musik. 

Wie klingen unsere Träume? Und wie schreibe ich ein Ensemblestück ohne Instrumente? Neo Hülcker präsentiert beim Eröffnungskonzert von Lucerne Festival Forward 2025 seine brandneue Komposition «other spaces» und spricht mit Lucerne-Festival-Dramaturg Mark Sattler über die Genese des Werks, den engen Austausch mit den Musik*innen und das Arbeiten ausserhalb gängiger Genregrenzen. 

Erleben Sie Neo Hülckers «other spaces» am 21. November 2025 bei Lucerne Festival Forward

 Lucerne Festival | November 2025

Hingehört – schärfen wir unsere Ohren für die Musik des 21. Jahrhunderts!

Bereits zum fünften Mal findet vom 21. bis 23. November 2025 Lucerne Festival Forward statt, unser Herbst-Festival für Gegenwartsmusik. Die experimentierfreudigen jungen Musiker*innen des Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) präsentieren ein breites Panorama ganz gegenwärtiger Musik. 

Was macht Improvisation aus? Und wie gelingt sie mit klassisch ausgebildeten Musiker*innen, die normalerweise nach Noten spielen? Die Performerin Charlotte Hug und der Saxofonist Tapiwa Svosve gestalten am 22. November 2025 bei Lucerne Festival Forward ein Late Night-Konzert mit Musiker*innen des Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO). In unserer Podcast-Serie sprechen sie über ihre unterschiedlichen Ansätze – und darüber, was sie in Luzern vorhaben. 

Erleben Sie Charlotte Hug und Tapiwa Svosve am 22. November 2025 bei Lucerne Festival Forward.

 Lucerne Festival | November 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century! 

Returning for its fifth edition, Lucerne Festival Forward – the Festival’s fall celebration of contemporary music – will take place from 21 to 23 November 2025. The adventurous young musicians of the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) will present a wide panorama of music that's entirely of our time. Among the brand new compositions up for discovery is Shawn Jaeger's "Mountains Are Fountains" for string orchestra.

In our podcast "Deep Listening: New Music", dramaturge Mark Sattler sits down with Shawn Jaeger to learn what ideas guided him in his composition and what's behind the wonderful title of his new work.

Hear the world premiere of "Mountains Are Fountains" live on 22 November 2025 at Lucerne Festival Forward.

Lucerne Festival | November 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century!

In 2025, Lucerne Festival is celebrating the 100th birthday of composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, the founder and long-standing director of the Lucerne Festival Academy. Our Summer Festival will feature some of Boulez' most iconic works, from the early "Notations" to the "Livre pour quatuor" and the epochal "Répons".

Back in 2002 – and under the tutelage of Boulez' himself – Jonathan Nott was one of the first conductors to perform Boulez' trailblazing masterpiece "Répons". As part of Lucerne Festival's Boulez anniversary, Nott will return for another performance of "Répons". Let's listen to him talk about his experience with this extraordinary composition.

Hear "Répons" live on 23 August at Lucerne Festival.

Lucerne Festival | August 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century! 

In 2025, Lucerne Festival is celebrating the 100th birthday of composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, the founder and long-standing director of the Lucerne Festival Academy. Our Summer Festival will feature some of Boulez' most iconic works, from the early "Notations" to the "Livre pour quatuor" and the epochal "Répons". 

As part of the celebrations, Lucerne Festival has commissioned a new work by  Japanese composer Dai Fujikura, whom Boulez championed at the Lucerne Festival Academy. In this podcast episodes, Fujikura reminisces on his relationship to Boulez and talks about his new composition "Rituals".

Hear the world premeire of "Rituals" live on 23 August at Lucerne Festival.

Lucerne Festival | August 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century! 

In 2025, Lucerne Festival is celebrating the 100th birthday of composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, the founder and long-standing director of the Lucerne Festival Academy. Our Summer Festival will feature some of Boulez' most iconic works, from the early "Notations" to the "Livre pour quatuor" and the epochal "Répons". 

We sit down with violinist Irvine Arditti from the Arditti Quartet who will perform Boulez' "Livre pour quatuor" on 17 August as the Swiss premiere of the completed version. We'll learn more about the Quartet's relationship to Boulez and how Arditti helped bringing the completed version to live.

Hear "Livre pour quatuor" live on 17 August at Lucerne Festival.

Lucerne Festival | August 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century! 

Marco Stroppa, who works on the cusp between instrumental and electronic music, is Lucerne Festival's composer-in-residence 2025. In Lucerne, Stroppa will present a selection of his signature works. Celebrating the 100th birthday of his former mentor Pierre Boulez, Stroppa also offers us a re-encounter with Boulez' "Poésie pour pouvoir" for which he reconstructed the electronics. 
Get to know Marco Stroppa and his work in two episodes of our podcast "Deep Listening: New Music", hosted by Lucerne Festival Dramaturge Mark Sattler.

In the second episode, we learn more about Pierre Boulez' groundbreaking work "Poésie pour pouvoir" which will be revived in Lucerne with a new tape reconstruction by our composer-in-residence and Carlo Laurenzi.

Read more on Marco Stroppa's activities as Lucerne Festival's composer-in-residence
Hear "Poésie pour pouvoir" live in concert

Lucerne Festival | August 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century! 

Marco Stroppa, who works on the cusp between instrumental and electronic music, is Lucerne Festival's composer-in-residence 2025. In Lucerne, Stroppa will present a selection of his signature works. Celebrating the 100th birthday of his former mentor Pierre Boulez, Stroppa also offers us a re-encounter with Boulez' "Poésie pour pouvoir" for which he reconstructed the electronics. 
Get to know Marco Stroppa and his work in two episodes of our podcast "Deep Listening: New Music", hosted by Lucerne Festival Dramaturge Mark Sattler.

To start, we learn more about Marco Stroppa's work with means of both instrumental and electronic music. "I'm a bilingual composer", he says. "For me it's hard to say where the electronics end and when the instrumental music starts."

Read more on Marco Stroppa's activities as Lucerne Festival's composer-in-residence

Lucerne Festival | August 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century! 

Violinist, performer, artistic researcher: Winnie Huang explores how musical expression and physical gestures can be combined. The Australian artist, a graduate of the Lucerne Festival Academy, is Lucerne Festival's "artiste étoile" 2025. Over the course of three episodes of our podcast "Deep Listening: New Music", Winnie Huang sits down with Lucerne Festival Dramaturge Mark Sattler to discuss her artistry, her musical journey, and the works she will perform in Lucerne this summer.

In the third and final episode, Winnie Huang talks about the Portrait Concert which will take place at the former movie theater "Moderne". We also learn more about the interactive and playful performances she will give as part of the 40min series and at the Ark Nova.

Read more on Winnie Huang's residency as Lucerne Festival's "artiste étoile".

Lucerne Festival | Juli 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch

Let's sharpen our ears for the music of the 21st century! 

Violinist, performer, artistic researcher: Winnie Huang explores how musical expression and physical gestures can be combined. The Australian artist, a graduate of the Lucerne Festival Academy, is Lucerne Festival's "artiste étoile" 2025. Over the course of three episodes of our podcast "Deep Listening: New Music", Winnie Huang sits down with Lucerne Festival Dramaturge Mark Sattler to discuss her artistry, her musical journey, and the works she will perform in Lucerne this summer.

The second episode is devoted entirely to Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Inori", a trailblazing work which Winnie Huang will perform on 13 September at the Lucerne Festival Ark Nova.

"Inori" at Lucerne Festival – more information and tickets

Lucerne Festival | Juli 2025
www.lucernefestival.ch