Lucerne Festival Academy 5

 “Not religious, but definitely spiritual”: this is how Galina Ustvolskaya once characterized her music. “I write when I enter a state of grace.” However, we should not expect meditative sounds from Ustvolskaya à la Arvo Pärt: the music of this one-of-a-kind Russian, who allowed only 25 works to be published, sounds edgy, austere, and concentrated — at times almost brutal. Ustvolskaya’s Second Symphony features massive chords, expressively charged gestures, and extreme contrasts in volume. And an unusual instrumentation: six flutes, oboes, and trumpets are joined by trombone and tuba and, in the final section, by a speaker who recites a prayer. “The Second Symphony, a work which must be experienced live, is especially important,” says Chaya Czernowin. Which is why she has composed a piece for the same ensemble, including a solo contrabass flute, in which Czernowin addresses her pain over the political developments in her homeland of Israel. At the beginning of the concert, we will commemorate Sofia Gubaidulina, who died in March. Her close association with the Festival included being featured as composer-in-residence in the summer of 2012. The Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) will be conducted for the first time by the much sought-after Zimbabwean-American conductor Vimbayi Kaziboni.