Luzerner Sinfonieorchester | Michael Sanderling | Alexander Malofeev

Schedule

Thu, 20 Aug, 2026 at 07:30 pm

UTC+02:00
Location

KKL Luzern | Lucerne, LU

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Luzerner Sinfonieorchester
Michael Sanderling, conductor
Alexander Malofeev, piano
Selim Palmgren: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 33 "The River"
George Gershwin: "Rhapsody in Blue"
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
What does America sound like? Perhaps like "Rhapsody in Blue", George Gershwin's early stroke of genius. Just listen to the opening clarinet solo with its long, swooping glissando and you immediately picture the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, Broadway, or a smoky New York jazz club. Born in 2001, Alexander Malofeev – Russian by birth and now based in Berlin — will perform this "greatest hit" with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. And he's the perfect choice: he thrilled audiences here in 2024 when, under Riccardo Chailly, he performed Rachmaninoff's fiendishly difficult First Piano Concerto with a virtuosity, assurance, and poetry that were simply unmatched. But Malofeev is also a musical treasure-hunter, drawn to uncovering lesser-known repertoire. One such find is the Second Piano Concerto by the Finnish composer Selim Palmgren, who died in 1951 and whose music will be heard at the Festival for the very first time. It is lushly Romantic — a perfect bridge to Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, which Michael Sanderling conducts following intermission. And this musical "confession of the soul" strikes straight at the heart.
Artemis Group / Franke Group – Concert Sponsor
Photo © Priska Ketterer / Lucerne Festival
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Where is it happening?

KKL Luzern, Europaplatz 1,Luzern, Switzerland, Lucerne

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