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| Lucerne Festival, Under Pressure, Reinvents Itself | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| LUCERNE, Switzerland — On the surface here, things seemed as tranquil as the swan-dotted waters of Lake Lucerne, which flow right into the lobby of the KKL Luzern concert hall. | |
| The Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the top-flight ensemble formed by the conductor Claudio Abbado in 2003, was in the hall, playing Mahler and Bruckner. The young players of the Lucerne Festival Academy, founded by the composer Pierre Boulez to teach modern music, were performing. And artists mixed offstage, with the composers Wolfgang Rihm and Olga Neuwirth sitting down to an alfresco lunch, and the conductors Marin Alsop and Susanna Malkki meeting after a concert. | |
| But behind the scenes, the Lucerne Festival, an increasingly important part of the classical music ecosystem, was being forced to reinvent itself. Within the past couple of years, the festival has lost not one, but both of its guiding artistic lights: Mr. Abbado died in 2014 at 80, and Mr. Boulez this year at 90. Their losses pose a challenge at a moment when Europe’s leading summer festivals hotly compete for artists, audiences and prestige. | But behind the scenes, the Lucerne Festival, an increasingly important part of the classical music ecosystem, was being forced to reinvent itself. Within the past couple of years, the festival has lost not one, but both of its guiding artistic lights: Mr. Abbado died in 2014 at 80, and Mr. Boulez this year at 90. Their losses pose a challenge at a moment when Europe’s leading summer festivals hotly compete for artists, audiences and prestige. |
| “You can always think that we’ve lost them — what are we going to do, we’re destroyed,” said Michael Haefliger, the festival’s executive and artistic director. “Or you can think, we’ve lost them — but they have created so much which we can continue.” | “You can always think that we’ve lost them — what are we going to do, we’re destroyed,” said Michael Haefliger, the festival’s executive and artistic director. “Or you can think, we’ve lost them — but they have created so much which we can continue.” |
| So the Lucerne Festival — founded here in 1938 when Arturo Toscanini joined musicians who would not, or could not, play in lands controlled by the Nazis — brought in two high-profile successors for this summer’s festival, which runs through Sunday: the conductor Riccardo Chailly, to lead the orchestra, and Mr. Rihm, the composer, to lead the academy. And it is preparing for a make-or-break moment in its longstanding quest for a new theater, which would allow it to offer more staged works of its own, as competitors like the Salzburg and Aix-en-Provence festivals do. | So the Lucerne Festival — founded here in 1938 when Arturo Toscanini joined musicians who would not, or could not, play in lands controlled by the Nazis — brought in two high-profile successors for this summer’s festival, which runs through Sunday: the conductor Riccardo Chailly, to lead the orchestra, and Mr. Rihm, the composer, to lead the academy. And it is preparing for a make-or-break moment in its longstanding quest for a new theater, which would allow it to offer more staged works of its own, as competitors like the Salzburg and Aix-en-Provence festivals do. |
| The new guard is already beginning to take the festival in a few new directions — not without some tensions. Mr. Chailly began his tenure here in August with Mahler’s enormous Symphony No. 8, which Mr. Abbado never reached in his final Mahler cycle. Mr. Chailly — who was an assistant to Mr. Abbado at Teatro alla Scala in Milan as a teenager, and now also leads La Scala himself — said he looked forward to exploring new repertoire with the orchestra, with one planned program pairing Rossini’s rarely performed “Edipo a Colono” with Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex.” | The new guard is already beginning to take the festival in a few new directions — not without some tensions. Mr. Chailly began his tenure here in August with Mahler’s enormous Symphony No. 8, which Mr. Abbado never reached in his final Mahler cycle. Mr. Chailly — who was an assistant to Mr. Abbado at Teatro alla Scala in Milan as a teenager, and now also leads La Scala himself — said he looked forward to exploring new repertoire with the orchestra, with one planned program pairing Rossini’s rarely performed “Edipo a Colono” with Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex.” |
| But taking over another man’s “orchestra of friends,” as Mr. Abbado called his close-knit ensemble, is not always easy. Controversies broke out on social media this year after Mr. Chailly made some changes to the roster. “Of course we count on the musicians who have been so many years part of the orchestra,” he said in an interview. “But here and there, I feel it is important also to have some new, fresh injections of musicians — in this case, a few musicians coming from La Scala.” | But taking over another man’s “orchestra of friends,” as Mr. Abbado called his close-knit ensemble, is not always easy. Controversies broke out on social media this year after Mr. Chailly made some changes to the roster. “Of course we count on the musicians who have been so many years part of the orchestra,” he said in an interview. “But here and there, I feel it is important also to have some new, fresh injections of musicians — in this case, a few musicians coming from La Scala.” |
| Given Mr. Boulez’s eminence as both composer and conductor, the festival decided that two people were needed to succeed him at the academy. Matthias Pintscher, the music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, was tapped as principal conductor of the academy’s orchestra. Mr. Rihm was named the academy’s artistic director and immediately began a program for young composers. | Given Mr. Boulez’s eminence as both composer and conductor, the festival decided that two people were needed to succeed him at the academy. Matthias Pintscher, the music director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, was tapped as principal conductor of the academy’s orchestra. Mr. Rihm was named the academy’s artistic director and immediately began a program for young composers. |
| In addition to having an enviably idyllic locale — this fairy-tale-beautiful city, its swimmably clean lake and majestic surrounding mountains all inspired Turner, Tolstoy, Trollope and Twain, and that’s just among the T’s — the festival has had two strong emphases in recent years. It presents leading orchestras and artists. (This summer’s roster felt a little like the highlights of a Carnegie Hall season squeezed into a month, with visits from the Vienna and Berlin philharmonics, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and the Cleveland Orchestra.) And it gives modern music unusual prominence, weaving it into the fabric of the festival rather than siloing it off on smaller side stages. | |
| “Because of Boulez, they could program so much modern music — which is quite rare for a festival of this size and richesse,” said the singer and conductor Barbara Hannigan, who gave this summer’s keynote address. “And people listened, because Boulez made them.” | “Because of Boulez, they could program so much modern music — which is quite rare for a festival of this size and richesse,” said the singer and conductor Barbara Hannigan, who gave this summer’s keynote address. “And people listened, because Boulez made them.” |
| The fate of the theater project could determine whether Lucerne is able to realize more of its high ambitions. The push for the theater, known as the New Theater Lucerne/Salle Modulable, has not been smooth. The project was the purpose of a contested nine-figure donation from a wealthy philanthropist who died shortly after pledging the money, which led to a lawsuit in Bermuda that has now been settled. Next are a series of political tests: To move forward, the plan must win approval from city and canton officials and then, under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, face a referendum by city voters in November, where its success is by no means assured. | The fate of the theater project could determine whether Lucerne is able to realize more of its high ambitions. The push for the theater, known as the New Theater Lucerne/Salle Modulable, has not been smooth. The project was the purpose of a contested nine-figure donation from a wealthy philanthropist who died shortly after pledging the money, which led to a lawsuit in Bermuda that has now been settled. Next are a series of political tests: To move forward, the plan must win approval from city and canton officials and then, under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, face a referendum by city voters in November, where its success is by no means assured. |
| Mr. Haefliger said the new theater would complement his vision of originating more work at the festival. “I knew from the beginning,” he said, “that I wanted to build the identity — making it more a producing festival, where you create something on your own — not only inviting people.” | Mr. Haefliger said the new theater would complement his vision of originating more work at the festival. “I knew from the beginning,” he said, “that I wanted to build the identity — making it more a producing festival, where you create something on your own — not only inviting people.” |
| The new theater would also be used by local groups, including the Lucerne Theater and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, whose music director is the rising young American conductor James Gaffigan. Winning approval to build it next to the KKL — partly on parkland — and to commit public funding on top of privately raised money could prove tricky at a moment when Switzerland has had to look at budget cuts in other areas. Hubert Achermann, the chairman of both the Lucerne Festival and the Salle Modulable Foundation, said in an interview that the supporters of the project would begin a campaign before the referendum. | The new theater would also be used by local groups, including the Lucerne Theater and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, whose music director is the rising young American conductor James Gaffigan. Winning approval to build it next to the KKL — partly on parkland — and to commit public funding on top of privately raised money could prove tricky at a moment when Switzerland has had to look at budget cuts in other areas. Hubert Achermann, the chairman of both the Lucerne Festival and the Salle Modulable Foundation, said in an interview that the supporters of the project would begin a campaign before the referendum. |
| “I think we have a very, very good chance,” he said. “It’s not an easy one — it has been a challenge from the beginning.” | “I think we have a very, very good chance,” he said. “It’s not an easy one — it has been a challenge from the beginning.” |
| Ms. Malkki, who came here to conduct the academy’s orchestra this summer, said that the thought of finally seeing the theater, a long-held dream of Mr. Boulez’s, made her smile. | Ms. Malkki, who came here to conduct the academy’s orchestra this summer, said that the thought of finally seeing the theater, a long-held dream of Mr. Boulez’s, made her smile. |
| “I think the classical music business is in an interesting place,” she said. “You have a lot of traditionalists, who don’t want things to change. And then you have others who know that it has already changed, and we have to catch up. And this kind of project may help. But it’s not about the halls, or the walls. It’s about the repertory.” | “I think the classical music business is in an interesting place,” she said. “You have a lot of traditionalists, who don’t want things to change. And then you have others who know that it has already changed, and we have to catch up. And this kind of project may help. But it’s not about the halls, or the walls. It’s about the repertory.” |
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