Hans Werner Henze Symphony no. 8
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy A Midsummer Night's Dream op. 21 and 61
Conductor Vladimir Jurowski / Soprano Helena Juntonen / Soprano Sarah Connolly / Choir Women of the Balthasar Neumann Chor / Speaker Annabel Arden

LUCERNE FESTIVAL 2011 is devoted to the phenomenon of night in music, in which the main theme is presented in different ways. Fairy tales, myths and figures of the night contribute to one of the five thematic series. Here, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra - performing for the first time under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, born in 1972 in Moscow - present a programme inspired by Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream":

Hans Werner Herze's Eighth Symphony, composed in 1992/1993, captures three scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The German composer celebrated his 85th birthday on the first of July of this year.

The second half of the concert features Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music. For this occasion, British author and composer Gerard McBurney has written texts that will appear between - and bring together - these musical numbers.

After the concert, MCO musicians Jaan Bossier (clarinet), Tim Summers (violin), Hayk Khachatryan (double bass), Martin Piechotta (percussion) and Jeroen Bal (piano) will give an outdoor performance of Klezmer arrangements by Bossier in Buvette, on the "Inseli", only a few steps away from the KKL and directly on the Vierwaldstätter Lake. Entry to the performance is open and free.


Broadcasts
Direct broadcast by Swiss Radio DRS 2.