Founded in 1805 and as Switzerland’s oldest symphony orchestra, it has gained an international standing and is perceived as one of the leading Swiss symphonic ensembles. The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester is the orchestra-in-residence of the renowned KKL Luzern. Strongly anchored in Lucerne, a city with a worldwide reputation for music, the orchestra offers a number of concert cycles and organises the Zaubersee Festival of Russian chamber music in Lucerne. It also acts as the opera orchestra of the Lucerne Theatre. The principal conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra has been Michael Sanderling since the 2021/2022 season.

Leading conductors such as de Billy, Carydis, Dausgaard, Janowski, Mena, Nelsons, Nott, Storgårds and Steinberg are regular guests of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester. Closely associated with the institution are soloists of international renown – these include Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell, Rudolf Buchbinder, Gautier & Renaud Capuçon, Vilde Frang, Nelson Freire, Vadim Gluzman, Hélène Grimaud, Steven Isserlis, Sol Gabetta, Truls Mørk, Gil Shaham, Daniil Trifonov and Krystian Zimerman.

The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester fosters young artists through concert formats such as Rising Stars, lunchtime concerts and the Arthur Waser Award. It maintains its own orchestral academy and a comprehensive outreach programme, for which it was awarded the “Junge Ohren” prize in 2018.

The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester has, to date, been invited to perform in 90 cities across 30 countries and four continents and has featured in some of the world’s most prestigious concert venues, including the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; the Philharmonie, Paris; the Barbican Hall, London.