Paavo Järvi conducts Mozart and Brahms — with Maria João Pires

To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Lucerne Festival in 2003, maestro Claudio Abbado and artistic director Michael Haefliger breathe new life into the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. This prestigious orchestra boasts some of Switzerland’s most brilliant musicians and was founded in 1938 by Toscanini, before beginning a slow decline. Twenty years later, the orchestra celebrates this milestone with two exceptional headliners, pianist Maria João Pires and conductor Paavo Järvi. 

Through the hands of one of the greatest contemporary performers of Mozart, discover the Piano Concerto No. 9, frequently referred to as “Jeunehomme.” The Austrian composer wrote the piece at age 21 for pianist Louise Victoire Jenamy. Pires performs it with her trademark grace and finesse. Järvi then conducts the orchestra through Brahms’s Symphony No. 4, an exceptional demonstration of the composer’s genius which blends a sublime expressive capacity with a perfectly mastered symphonic architecture. Between the two performances, the lauded Andante from the Piano Concerto No. 21 is featured. This key musical work from Pires’s repertoire makes for a vibrant homage to Abbado, who died in 2014.