The composer Beat Furrer and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) performing his new piece "Lichtung" under his direction. © Patrick Hürlimann/Lucerne Festival
The composer Beat Furrer and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) performing his new piece "Lichtung" under his direction. © Patrick Hürlimann/Lucerne Festival

Roche awards alternating commissions for compositions as part of the programs known as “Roche Commissions” and “Roche Young Commissions.” These new works then receive their world premieres at the Summer Festival.

Roche Commissions

“Roche Commissions” is a unique and trailblazing partnership between Roche, Lucerne Festival, and the Lucerne Festival Academy. In connection with this partnership, Roche has been awarding commissions to outstanding contemporary composers on a regular basis since 2003. Since the beginning of the “Roche Commissions” program, a total of twelve composers have each received a commission to write a new work. The resulting scores have each been given their world premieres during the Summer Festival in Lucerne. The following commission, the thirteenth edition, goes to the Australian composer Liza Lim. The world premiere of her work will take place as part of the 2026 Summer Festival.

  • Winners

    Liza Lim | new work (2026)

    Beat Furrer | Lichtung for orchestra (2024)

    Thomas Adès | Air for violin and orchestra (2022)

    Rebecca Saundersto an utterance for piano and orchestra (2020/21)

    Peter Eötvös | Reading Malevich for orchestra (2018)

    Olga NeuwirthTrurliade – Zone Zero for percussion and orchestra (2016)

    Unsuk ChinLe Silence des Sirènes for soprano and orchestra (2014)

    Matthias PintscherChute d’Étoiles. Hommage à Anselm Kiefer for orchestra (2012)

    Toshio Hosokowa | Woven Dreams for orchestra (2010)

    George BenjaminDUET for piano and orchestra (2008)

    Hanspeter Kyburztouché for soprano, tenor, and Orchestra (2006)

    Chen YiSi Ji (Four Seasons) for large orchestra (2005)

    Sir Harrison BirtwistleNight’s Black Bird for orchestra (2004)

Roche Young Commissions

In an expanded partnership of Roche with Lucerne Festival and the Lucerne Festival Academy, in 2013 the “Roche Young Commissions” program was created. Every two years this program gives out commissions for new works to two emerging composers. Within a two-year period the pair of composers then creates their orchestral works in a process of intensive exchange with two young conductors and under the guidance of Dieter Ammann. These new scores are similarly introduced to the public at the Summer Festival in Lucerne. The inaugural world premiere of the “Roche Young Commissions” series took place in the summer of 2015.

Composition Commissions for the 2025 “Roche Young Commissions” awarded to the spanish composer Guillem Palomar and the german Jakob Raab.

  • Winners

    Guillem Palomar | Jakob Raab (2025)

    David Moliner | Hovik Sardaryan (2023)

    Kirsten Milenko | Alexander Vaughan (2021)

    Marianna Liik | Josep Planells Schiaffino (2019)

    Lisa Streich | Matthew Kaner (2017)

    Samy Moussa | Piotr Peszat (2015)

Roche Commissions & Roche Young Commissions