Claudio Abbado conducts Mozart's Requiem at the Lucerne Festival

This year also, Maestro Claudio Abbado holds the baton to conduct his "orchestral family," the unique Lucerne Festival Orchestra which he founded in 2003, gathering the best soloists and chamber musicians in the world. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra has now become an internationally reknown orchestra, and it has opened every Lucerne Festival in Summer ever since, to form a unique ensemble.

Also on stage, some of the greatest singers of our days, ranging from Sara Mingardo to René Pape. Together, they perform Beethoven and Mozart – the two giants of the classical period. The concert opens with Egmont, which overture has remained very popular, even though the rest of the score is quite rarely performed. The second part of the programme features Mozart's Requiem, a true masterpiece of the sacred repertoire. An ideal choice to open this 2012 edition of the Lucerne Festival, focusing this year on the theme of "faith."

© Picture: LUCERNE FESTIVAL/Fred Toulet