50th Anniversary Tour:
September 26 – October 16, 2006
The internationally renowned Lucerne Festival Strings was established in 1956 by Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Rudolf Baumgartner, who directed the chamber orchestra for nearly 40 years. Their first concert was given at the Lucerne Festival where they continue to perform regularly. In 1998 Achim Fiedler was named Artistic Director, extending their remarkable history with a vision for their future.
One of Europe’s most highly regarded music ensembles, the Lucerne Festival Strings perform in the major music centers of Europe, at the leading classical music Festivals and on tours throughout the world. From their earliest days, their tours were as far ranging as to Cuba, Iran, the United States, Mexico, South Africa, India and Taiwan. Recent tours include much-acclaimed concerts in Germany, the Czech Republic and South America. In 2003 they performed to overwhelming success in Turkey and in a 10-concert tour of the United States. The orchestra has worked with innumerable guest soloists including such legendary artists as Pablo Casals, Clara Haskil and David Oistrakh, and more recently, James Galway, Sabine Meyer, Thomas Zehetmair, Mischa Maisky, Kolja Blacher, Leonidas Kavakos, Reinhold Friedrich, Ruth Ziesak and Alexander Lonquich, to mention just a few…
The Lucerne Festival Strings strive to establish a creative dialogue between old and new music. Their extensive repertoire ranges from works for string ensemble to larger chamber orchestra, from Baroque music – integrating the most recent scholarship on historical performance practices – to contemporary music. The ensemble has given premieres of more than 90 works of such renowned composers as Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinu, Sándor Veress, Iannis Xenakis, Krzysztof Penderecki, Herbert Willi and Milko Kelemen. Most of these compositions were commissioned for the orchestra.
Countless recordings document the creative work of this wonderful ensemble. Since 2003, the Lucerne Festival Strings record exclusively for Oehms Classics. The first two CDs, Dialogue Bach – Honegger and Dialogue Schubert – Webern were released since 2003 and will be followed shortly by Dialogue Bach – Minimal Music, which will include “Shaker Loops” by John Adams.
In 1986, the “Lucerne Festival Strings Foundation” was created in collaboration with the town and Province of Lucerne. The Lucerne Festival Strings are the resident ensemble at the Lucerne Academy of Music.
Achim Fiedler was born in Stuttgart, Germany. He studied violin with Saschko Gawriloff and chamber music with the Amadeus Quartet at the Cologne Academy of Music. He was awarded a grant to continue his studies at the Guildhall School in London and later studied conducting with Franco Gallini in Milan and Thomas Ungar in Stuttgart. He was subsequently invited to be a Conducting Fellow in Tanglewood/USA where he worked with Seiji Ozawa. Soon afterwards he became an assistant to Bernard Haitink and Carlo Maria Giulini.
Achim Fiedler has appeared as a guest conductor with many of Europe’s finest orchestras, including the Dresden Staatskapelle, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Radio-Philharmonie of the NDR Hanover, the Wiener Kammerorchester, the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. Most recently he appeared with the Orquestra Sinfónica de Barcelona e Nacional de Catalunya and in Vienna’s Musikverein. He has been the Artistic Director of the Lucerne Festival Strings since 1998.
Maestro Fiedler has won awards in several international conducting competitions, including 1st prize in Cadaqués/Spain in 1996 and, in 1997, a Herbert von Karajan grant. Between 1994 and 2001 he received career support from the Deutscher Musikrat, a foundation that recognizes and assists the most promising young German conductors.
January 2005
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California Artists Management in association with Mariedi Anders Artists Management, Inc.
“It was a real event. In Mozart's Symphony No. 21 and the Three Pieces for strings, the Lucerne Festival Strings had many possibilities to prove their stunning ensemble work. The orchestra convinced completely with their combination of joyous freedom and exquisite precision. The ensemble scored its first coup in the 'Three Pieces' with their fragile and nuanced atmosphere in the ‘Canticle.’ Another highlight was the Mozart symphony which was vigorous and incredibly gripping. A great performance was given by the Lucerne Festival Strings with their refined restraint and technical perfection. They were an ideal partner and co-interpreter of Sabine Meyer. Much credit for this success was due the Lucerne Festival Strings under their chief conductor Achim Fiedler who accompanied flexibly and with great attention. They were precise in the tutti parts and incredibly supple in their dialogue with the solo parts.”
Neue Luzerner Zeitung
December 7, 2004
“The presence of the ensemble Lucerne Festival Strings in Buenos Aires was a witness to the high quality of this string orchestra.”
La Nacion
August 21, 2004
“Skillfully applied its golden sound”
The Washington Post
November 11, 2003
“Fiedler and the Lucerne Strings presented an authentic and brilliant interpretation which can hardly be surpassed by anyone else in the world.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
December 9, 2003
“An alert performance full of quicksilver contrasts”
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
December 10, 2003
“Brilliant performance”
Neue Luzerner Zeitung
December 4, 2003
“Emotional enthusiasm and technical svelteness”
Houston Chronicle
November 10, 2003
“First-class quality – admirably high standard. A perfect representation of Dvorák’s style”
Prague Haló noviny
September 23, 2003
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