MARTHA ARGERICH & CHARLES DUTOIT – JUBILEE GALA

When Martha Argerich and Charles Dutoit appear together, musical history can be experienced first-hand and in deeply personal form. Both take centre stage at the anniversary gala: Martha Argerich with Chopin’s First Piano Concerto, and Charles Dutoit at the podium of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester with Stravinsky’s Petrushka.

The anniversary gala honours two exceptional artistic biographies. Martha Argerich celebrates her 85th birthday in 2026 and has shaped Le Piano Symphonique as «Pianiste Associée» since 2024. Charles Dutoit, meanwhile, celebrates his 90th birthday in October 2026. Born in Lausanne, the conductor has for decades been one of the internationally defining interpreters of the French and Russian repertoire.

Argerich and Dutoit are connected by a personal history as well as an artistic one. At the anniversary gala, they meet in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, a work in which the pianist can unfold her unmistakable blend of fire, freedom and poetry.

An even older strand of musical history comes alive in Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka under the direction of Charles Dutoit. Born in Lausanne in 1936, Dutoit once studied with Ernest Ansermet, who was himself closely linked to the French-Russian ballet tradition. When Dutoit conducts Petrushka with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, a sounding line of tradition becomes audible – from Stravinsky’s ballet world through Ansermet and into the present.