Lucerne Festival Orchestra

Yuja Wang “Artiste étoile”

When virtuosos like Niccolò Paganini, Franz Liszt, or Sergei Rachmaninoff used to dazzle audiences with their diabolical artistry, their awe-struck listeners imagined a pact with the devil had to be involved. We still encounter legendary musicians who display a virtuosity that seems wizard-like even nowadays – and they are by no means limited to male performers. The Chinese pianist Yuja Wang, who was born in 1987, represents the level of keyboard magic where there seem to be no technical limits. Far more than her extravagant outfits, it is her hyper-virtuosity that casts a spell on piano lovers. “The music comes first,” she asserts, “and not the physical pleasure of being able to play fast.” As “artiste étoile” of the crazy 2021 Summer Festival, she will therefore perform not only such notoriously challenging works as Liszt’s First Piano Concerto and Rachmaninoff’s Fourth but also Mozart’s deeply probing D minor Concerto, K. 466; Bach’s F minor Concerto, with its blissful Largo; and Shostakovich’s cheerfully humorous Second Piano Concerto. Such variety shows how the true master commands all facets of the art of piano playing, immersing herself deeply in the work at hand and exploring the very soul of the music.

21 August | 18.30

Lucerne Festival Orchestra 5

KKL Luzern, Concert Hall Lucerne Festival Orchestra | Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor | Yuja Wang piano Mozart Piano Concerto in D minor, K. 466 | Bruckner Symphony No. 8 in C minor, WAB 108

26 August | 19.30

Mahler Chamber Orchestra

KKL Luzern, Concert Hall Mahler Chamber Orchestra | Yuja Wang piano and musical direction Rebel Chaos from Les élémens | Purcell Suite from The Fairy Queen | J. S. Bach Piano Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056 | Stravinsky Octet for Wind Instruments | Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, Op. 102

28 August | 18.30

Mariinsky Orchestra

KKL Luzern, Concert Hall Mariinsky Orchestra | Valery Gergiev conductor | Yuja Wang piano Prokofiev Suite from Lieutenant Kijé, Op. 60 | Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 | Stravinsky Le Sacre du printemps

11 September | 18.30

Budapest Festival Orchestra

KKL Luzern, Concert Hall Budapest Festival Orchestra | Iván Fischer conductor| Yuja Wang piano Liszt The Dance in the Village Inn (Mephisto Waltz), S 110, no. 2 | Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S 124 | A Faust Symphony, S 108