Classical Music in Compact Form in Lucerne

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The Lucerne Festival Spring opens the season from 27 to 29 March 2026 with grand symphonic works and a special farewell.

A festive opening and cultural starting signal before the tourist high season. When Lucerne Festival Spring begins on 27 March 2026, a compact yet high-calibre chapter in the international concert calendar unfolds once again. Within just three days, the Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne (KKL) gathers an exceptional international line-up of orchestras, conductors and soloists. The spring festival is considered the musical prologue of the year – concentrated, exclusive and artistically refined.

Of Heroes and a Finale Furioso

The thrilling Ludwig van Beethoven expedition, launched by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra two years ago, now enters its third round. Under the direction of Riccardo Chailly and Franz Welser-Möst, two highly contrasting symphonies are on the programme. In the monumental Third Symphony, the Sinfonia Eroica, Beethoven fights with burning idealism for freedom and equality. The Fourth Symphony, perhaps the most technically challenging of Beethoven’s symphonies, bursts with vitality and joy. It begins with a mysterious introduction that already points far into the Romantic era before unleashing an irresistible forward-driving energy. Traditionally, the performances of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra stand at the centre of the programme and form the musical heart of the weekend for many visitors.

Time to Say Goodbye

When the four children of the Hagen family of musicians from Salzburg formed an ensemble in the 1970s, they caused a sensation. After nearly five decades of international success, the legendary Hagen Quartet will bid farewell to its audience during the 2025/2026 season. At its final appearance in Lucerne, the extraordinary pianist Kirill Gerstein joins them with Brahms’s dramatic Piano Quintet. The remarkable cellist Julia Hagen will also take the stage, performing Schubert’s moving string quartet, symbolically introducing the next generation of the musical family.