Yuja Wang

The charismatic and inspiring Claudio Abbado and the mesmerising young pianist Yuja Wang, with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, hold the audience spellbound in this opening concert of the 2009 Lucerne Festival. Prokofiev's popular and vibrant Third Piano Concerto demonstrates the composer's sharp musical wit, and Yuja Wang is a brilliant exponent of the work. Following this, and chiming beautifully with the festival's theme of the relationship between art and nature, Mahler's First Symphony is given an illuminating and rapturously received performance.

The LSO’s Principal Guest Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas celebrated his 70th birthday in 2015 with a concert focusing on British and Russian music, but with a nod to his native USA. He’s joined by the sensational young Chinese pianist Yuja Wang in Gershwin’s popular Concerto. Michael Tilson Thomas gave the US premiere of Colin Matthews’ Hidden Variables, an LSO commission during Matthews’ time as an Associate Composer with the LSO.

The unforgettable performances by Claudio Abbado and the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA of Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1−7 are newly celebrated in a set which showcases their exceptional quality – both audiovisual and musical. Claudio Abbado has set new standards in the interpretation of Gustav Mahler’s works; he and his exclusive ensemble of hand-picked musicians held audiences spellbound in these concerts. REPERTOIRE: Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1-7; Five lieder based on poems by Friedrich Rückert; Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26

With more than 120 performances a year, Yuja Wang lives a nomadic lifestyle. Travelling the world, two extra small trolley suitcases carry the essentials for a two week trip: dresses, shoes, iPad, iPod, and Smartphone. The 27-year-old Yuja leads a new generation of pianists who can comfortably play anything thanks to phenomenal technique and healthy self-confidence. Even so, she stands squarely in the tradition of great piano virtuosi, offering much more than just technical wizardry alone...

After Evgeny Mravinsky, Yuri Temirkanov is one of the main representatives of Russian music. He is the current principal conductor of the Mariinsky's Orchestra and conducted St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra during twelve years. During the Verbier Festival 2011 he performed with the great Yuja Wang in a programme including Liadov, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky.