Beethoven and Brahms – Monumental masterpieces in a minor key

Young stars in core repertoire by Beethoven and Brahms

What do classical music, chess, cinema, history and football have in common? The answer: the 28-year-old Canadian pianist Bruce Liu, who was born in Paris to Chinese parents and combines all of these interests with a glittering career as a pianist. He not only won the 2021 Chopin Competition, but also sat at the piano alongside Martha Argerich at the opening event of the same competition for historical instruments in 2023. It will be interesting to see how he brings such experience to his rendition of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, having once achieved a “marvellous balance between poetry and virtuosity”, as one critic put it. A young star among conductors can also be found on our podium. With Persian-German roots, David Afkham is chief conductor of the Spanish National Orchestra and also guests with top orchestras in Europe and the USA. In Lucerne, he will return to his core repertoire with Brahms’ momentous First Symphony, a centrepiece of German Romanticism, whose majestic alphorn theme is reminiscent of the composer’s impressions from a trip to Switzerland.