Le Piano Symphonique 2027 – Martha Argerich Opening Concert

As «Pianiste Associée», Martha Argerich has helped establish Le Piano Symphonique as a firm fixture among the international piano festivals. The 2027 edition places the pianist at its centre in honour of her 85th birthday. From the opening concert with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, the festival is shaped by the spirit of encounter that Argerich brings to it – a spirit that, according to the specialist magazine FonoForum, makes it “one of the most exciting festivals of all”.

It may seem paradoxical that a world star such as Martha Argerich appears not as a solo figure, but together with friends and trusted musicians. Yet this is precisely the Argerich & Friends idea for which Le Piano Symphonique offers an ideal platform. In 2027, this becomes clear in the very first of her four festival appearances: the opening concert.

Among the “friends” here is the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester itself. Under the musical direction of Gregory Ahss, Martha Argerich and the orchestra meet in Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor on equal terms.

Argerich’s role as «Pianiste Associée» also means drawing on a network built over decades to open doors for younger pianists. The opening concert features two artists of the younger generation: Tianyao Lyu in the Konzertstück for piano and orchestra in G major, and Giorgi Gigashvili in the Concert Allegro with Introduction in D minor.

The programme of Robert Schumann’s three works for piano and orchestra is also marked by ties of friendship and family. Schumann wrote them all for his wife, the pianist Clara Schumann. The Concert Allegro op. 134 was also dedicated to the young family friend and great hope Johannes Brahms, at a time when Schumann was already in the Endenich asylum.

All three works also embody the guiding idea of Le Piano Symphonique: the connection between the piano and a symphonic dimension. Even before composing the Piano Concerto, Schumann imagined “something between a symphony, a concerto and a grand sonata” – not simply a “concerto for the virtuoso”.

In the Piano Concerto, originally conceived as a single-movement fantasy, Schumann created in 1845 a portrait of his love for Clara, shaped by the contrast between stormy Florestan themes and dreamlike Eusebius themes. In the Konzertstück op. 92, composed four years later, he gave the piano a more dominant, “very passionate” role, as Clara enthusiastically wrote. She immediately counted the Concert Allegro op. 134 among “the most ingenious pieces Robert has written”.