Inmo Yang and Festival Strings Lucerne

Festival Strings Lucerne was founded in 1956 and swiftly established itself as one of the most distinguished chamber orchestras in Europe and around the world. In 1956, the orchestra made its debut at Lucerne Festival, followed by the Salzburg Festival in 1957, Wien and Paris in 1958, New York in 1959, London in 1961, Mexico City in 1963, Tokyo in 1971, Sydney 1977, and Hong Kong 1978. 

The orchestra presents a diverse repertoire in its own concert series at the KKL Luzern and as guest ensemble at the Lucerne Festival, while regularly performing at leading European concert halls such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie Berlin, Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw, and the Vienna Musikverein. Festival Strings Lucerne, currently led by violinist Daniel Dodds, was established as a string orchestra with harpsichord by the Viennese violin legend Wolfgang Schneiderhan and the Swiss conductor and violinist Rudolf Baumgartner. From the beginning, the ensemble has been committed to developing the noble glow and warmth of the Austro-Hungarian string sound tradition. Dodds, who was appointed artistic director in 2012, leads the orchestra from the concertmaster’s chair, continuing the example set by Baumgartner. Dodds has significantly extended the ensemble, incorporating additional instruments when necessary to perform midsize symphonic repertoire.

The orchestra’s repertoire ranges from baroque music to contemporary compositions and includes premieres of over 100 works by composers like Jean Francaix, Frank Martin, Bohuslav Martinů, Sandor Veress, Iannis Xenakis, Krzystof Penderecki, and Rudolf Kelterborn. The ensemble has recently collaborated with leading musicians such as Daniil Trifonov, Khatia Buniatishvili, Hélène Grimaud, Rudolf Buchbinder, Maria João Pires, Mischa Maisky, Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, and Midori. 

Festival Strings Lucerne has a rich history of distinguished recordings, exclusively released by Deutsche Grammophon until 1973, then by Decca, Eurodisc, Denon, Pentatone, and Warner Classics. Sony Classical has released the newest album Haffner Serenade featuring works by Wolfgang Amadé Mozart and his contemporary Vincenzo Righini in September 2022.

Daniel Dodds, a violinist and pedagogue, has served as artistic director of the Festival Strings Lucerne since 2012, adding to his duties as the ensemble’s first concertmaster which he assumed in 2000. Of Australian-Chi­nese heritage, Dodds has performed as a soloist under the baton of renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Oksana Lyniv. He has collaborated with various orchestras including the Festival Strings Lucerne, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera ltaliana, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra. 

Dodds completed his violin studies under the guidance of Gunars Larsens, his predecessor as concertmaster of the Festival Strings Lucerne, and Keiko Wataya in Utrecht, Holland. He has also participated in master classes with Rudolf Baumgartner, Franco Gulli and Nathan Milstein. In addition to his performance commitments, Dodds currently teaches at the Musikhochschule of Lucerne.

Both his work with the Festival Strings Lucerne and his critically acclaimed solo recording Time Transcending (released by Oehms Classics), demonstrate his deep commitment to music of varying styles, spanning centuries. 

Dodds plays the Stradivarius Hämmerle-Baumgartner from 1717, on loan from the Festival Strings Lucerne Foundation, and the Stradivarius Selliere from around 1680, owned by the Monika Widmer Foundation of Lucerne. 

Korean violinist Inmo Yang is the first prize winner of the 2022 Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. He was awarded a prize for the best performance of the commissioned work written by Magnus Lindberg. Sakari Oramo, the chair of the jury commented: “The winner was overwhelming. There is so much great about Inmo’s playing, both musically and violinistically. There is never anything extra involved in changing the spring, which produces singing and ease.”

In 2015, Inmo won the 54th International Violin Competition Premio Paganini in Genoa, Italy, marking the first time since 2006 that the Paganini Competition jury awarded First Prize.  He also garnered the following special prizes: youngest finalist, best performance of the contemporary original piece, performance most appreciated by the audience, and a special recital in Genoa using Paganini’s own Guarneri Del Gesu violin. 

Inmo made his Carnegie Hall debut at the Weill Recital Hall as a winner of the Concert Artists Guild competition, and went on to receive invitations to the Boston Symphony Hall, the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, the Ravinia Music Festival, and the Marlboro Music Festival.

Inmo has performed with many renowned conductors and international orchestras. Notable engagements for the upcoming season include his London debut at the Barbican Center with the BBC Symphony orchestra/Sakari Oramo, Sibelius concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra/Santtu-Mattias Rouvali at Mikkeli Festival, and a tour with the Hong Kong Philharmonic/Roberto Gonzales-Monjas.

In 2021, Inmo released his second Deutsche Grammophon album The Genetics of Strings. His debut album, 24 Caprices by N. Paganini, was recorded live as part of the Kumho Art Hall residency and released under the same label in 2019.

Inmo studied with Namyoon Kim at Korea National University of Arts, Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and Antje Weithaas at Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. He is now studying at Kronberg Academy with Antje Weithaas.

Inmo is playing on a violin by G. B. Guadagnini of Turin, kindly loaned by Jane Ng through J & A Beare and the Beare’s International Violin Society for The International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. Inmo is currently based in Berlin.