About us

Thanks to its world-class musicians drawn from some 20 nations, the orchestra has developed over the years into an ensemble of international standing. Strongly anchored in its locality, the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester also has an international scope; it represents Lucerne’s musical life on international tours, and is orchestra in residence at the KKL Luzern. It also acts as the opera orchestra of the Lucerne Theatre. Michael Sanderling has held the post of Chief Conductor of the orchestra since the 2021/22 season.
The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester actively promotes new music through the commissioning of works from composers including William Kentridge, Sofia Gubaidulina, Dieter Ammann, Rodion Shchedrin, Thomas Adès and Wolfgang Rihm. The Rising Stars series, lunchtime concerts and the Arthur Waser Prize signal the orchestra’s commitment to fostering young talent. It runs its own orchestra academy and a comprehensive outreach programme, for which it was awarded the ‘Junge Ohren’ prize in 2018.
Since 2021 the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester has been ideally located in the Orchesterhaus, which serves as home, workshop, rehearsal space and recording studio. Besides rehearsals – some of which are open to the public – chamber music concerts and numerous music outreach events also take place at this location.
The international profile of the orchestra is reflected in its output of CDs and DVDs. Sony Classical has released albums including ‘Rachmaninoff in Lucerne’ and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In 2021 the orchestra sealed a long term partnership with Warner Classics. Following a critically-acclaimed Brahms cycle, they recently released a recording of the Grieg and Schumann piano concertos, with Elizabeth Leonskaja as soloist.
The 2024/25 season features renowned artists such as Martha Argerich, Janine Jansen, Anastasia Kobekina, Kian Soltani, Rudolf Buchbinder, Gautier Capuçon, Julia Fischer, Mikhail Pletnev and Beatrice Rana, some of whom have enjoyed a close association with the orchestra over many years. Michael Sanderling will also tackle two of history’s great Requiems: Mozart’s 1791 Requiem in D minor (KV 626) and Antonín Dvořák’s Requiem Op. 89 (B 165), composed in 1890. In November, Fazil Say’s new work ‘Mozart and Mevlana Rumi’ will receive its world premiere.
The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester has been running the annual international piano festival ‘Le Piano Symphonique’ since 2022, under the artistic direction of Numa Bischof Ullmann. In January 2025, piano enthusiasts can look forward to another fantastic line-up of guest soloists. The festival will take place from 13th to 18th January 2025. Three further recitals with star performers will be held during the season in connection with the 2025 festival: Khatia Buniatishvili (19.10.24), Krystian Zimerman (13.03.25) and Evgeny Kissin (20.06.25). Evgeny Kissin is also involved in a highlight of the 2025 festival: the “Shostakovich Project”. In this project, the Russian star pianist will perform works by his composer compatriot together with long-standing musical friends and companions such as Gidon Kremer, the Kopelman Quartet, singer Chen Reiss and tenor Michael Schade. Martha Argerich, the “master of weightless sound” (NZZ), remains a key figure of the festival in her role as “Pianiste Associée”.
The achievements of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, and of its artistic director Numa Bischof Ullmann in particular, were honoured in spring 2023 with the European Culture Prize yœurope Award.
The international promotion of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester is funded principally by the Michael and Emmy Lou Pieper Trust.