The piercing call of the carnyx likely sounded across Lake Lucerne more than 2,000 years ago, when Celtic tribes settled in Central Switzerland. Liza Lim has composed a concerto for this ancient bronze trumpet, nearly two meters long, asking herself “how ancient lineages of human and more-than-human creativity reside in bodies, cultural artefacts and the Deep Time histories of place, carrying seeds of resilience and also potential danger that may yet bloom again.” Far less exotic is the second solo instrument of the evening, the clarinet. Yet composer-in-residence Mark Andre — inspired by extensive sound experiments with Jörg Widmann — coaxes from it a wealth of entirely new timbres. 

EPSG:4326

Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) | Elim Chan

KKL Luzern Concert Hall

Benjamin Britten’s Sea Interludes from his hit opera Peter Grimes conclude with a violent storm. Here the tragic hero’s vision of happiness and inner peace is swept away by a final outburst from the orchestra. At the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin’s concert conducted by Simone Young, they are followed by the Adagio from Gustav Mahler’s unfinished 10th Symphony: a “tornado of life” (Jens Malte Fischer) that was written in one of the deepest crises that the composer suffered in the last summer of his life. Oscillating layers dominate the soundscape of Sappho/ Bioluminescence by the Australian composer Liza Lim, before the evening ends with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5.

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin I

Berliner Philharmoniker

Hailed as “Australia’s most exciting young cellist” by Limelight magazine, Switzerland-based Australian musician James Morley works largely as a soloist and chamber musician. He is a specialist in contemporary music performance and demonstrates that here, anchored by  bastions of the Baroque era Colombi and Biber.

James Morley

Leeds Conservatoire

Memories and fragments of the past take on new forms in this concert curated by Euchar Gravina, with works that reimagine old music, weathered recordings and emotive sounds.

Jerwood Composer+ Showcase

LSO St Luke's

Music by Pamela Z, Liza Lim, Liliya Ugay, Peter S. Shin, John Adams, and W. A. Mozart.

Santa Monica Music Festival: Program 3

First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica

Liza Lim’s Sappho/bioluminescence makes expressive bedfellows of a squid that camouflages itself by glowing like the night sky, Sappho’s poetry and luminous instruments.

Composing Australia Night Two

Melbourne Recital Centre

Absolute music. Boulez with a homage to Stravinsky, Manoury with a homage to Boulez and Lim with her work dedicated to a Persian Sufi master – these reverences are just the cause, but not the point of origin, the foundation, on which these three works are resting. This is all about music. Nothing outside music diverts the attention. Fixed structures contain glowing instrumental sounds – an inquiry into musical language and what it is capable of; the soul of sound without programme.

Explosion

Wiener Konzerthaus

Sonic Spectrum III

Samuel B. & David Rose Building

Nicolas Altstaedt and Alisa Weilerstein shine in new cello concertos by Liza Lim and Matthias Pintscher respectively. The composer–conductor Pintscher also conducts colourful works by Dutilleux and Ligeti.

The cello takes centre stage

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ

The Concertgebouw

Together with the VOICES Festival Berlin and director Philipp Grigorian, Klangforum Wien creates immersive listening experiences with contemporary music. The "Nachspiel" concert creates spaces for an intimate, intensive encounter between audience and artists. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in the radical experience of New Music and to leave the distance between listener and performer behind.

VOICES Festival: Nachspiel

Kühlhaus, Berlin

Edward Gardner & Nicolas Altstaedt

Munich Residence

The iconic blast of the horns at the beginning of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony is the first of many power-packed moments in this program of dramatic contrasts.

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony

Sydney Opera House

SBC 2023 Festival Concert 4

Lincoln Theater Damariscotta

Join us for an extraordinary evening of contemporary music with Franck Ollu & Krassimir Sterev at the Munich Residence, Herkulessaal, on Friday, 12 May 2023, at 8:00 pm. This concert, part of the Bavarian Radio's esteemed musica viva series, promises to be a night of world and German premieres that push the boundaries of orchestral music.

The evening will feature the world premiere of "Mary/Transcendence after Trauma" by Australian composer Liza Lim. This piece, commissioned by Bavarian Radio’s musica viva series, explores themes of female spirituality and is the second part of the Annunciation triptych focusing on Mary's Visitation by the Angel and the Passion Play. The music is characterized by its incantatory and divinatory qualities, with archaic sound fragments that promise to transport the audience.

Also premiering is Francesca Verunelli's accordion concerto "Accord, Chord and Tune," a remarkable synthesis of orchestral sounds and the unique timbres of the accordion, performed by Krassimir Sterev. This work further exemplifies the innovative spirit of the musica viva series.

The program will also include the German premiere of Pascal Dusapin's "Morning in Long Island for large orchestra," a kaleidoscopic orchestral fantasy inspired by the natural and ambient sounds of Long Island, New York.

Under the baton of conductor Franck Ollu, with Krassimir Sterev on accordion, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks will bring these captivating works to life. This concert is a must-attend for lovers of contemporary music and those looking to experience the cutting edge of orchestral performance.

Tickets are available online via the BRticket-Webshop. Don't miss this opportunity to be part of a night where music transcends the ordinary and enters the realm of the extraordinary.

Franck Ollu & Krassimir Sterev

Think “performance art” as you approach this play-oriented re-encountering of the space where live music is made, concocted by the team of boundary-less composer inti-figgis-vizueta and Jay Campbell, the remarkable cellist whose repertoire knows no bounds.

Liza Lim

Events

Upcoming events

Feb 5, 2027

Music of Our Time - The Healing Cello | Elbphilharmonie Visions · WDR Sinfonieorchester

Jun 18, 2027

Brad Lubman · Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Past events

Sep 29, 2026

Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) | Elim Chan · Lucerne Festival

Sep 16, 2026

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin I · Berliner Philharmoniker

About

Liza Lim hasn't added a bio