1st Edition of Lëtz Next Generation Concert Held at Philharmonie Luxembourg

On Tuesday 20 January 2026, the Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg (OCL - Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra) and Artistes en Herbe hosted the first edition of Lëtz Next Generation at the Philharmonie in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

Held in the Chamber Music Hall, the concert welcomed just under 200 attendees. The Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra performed the programme under the direction of Manuel Tévar.

Nathalie Wies of Artistes en Herbe opened the evening with a speech, highlighting the three-year collaboration and the progress of the project. She noted: “Our collaboration with the Chamber Orchestra of Luxembourg has finally succeeded, after three years of efforts.”

Georges Saint-Pierre, President of the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, added that the concert marked the first performance of the year and reflected the orchestra’s broader mission. “One of our major objectives is to support and train young talents, while focussing on works by Luxembourgish composers or foreign composers who work in Luxembourg, and to integrate this repertoire into the country’s pedagogical paths so that it becomes known, accessible and truly part of musical education,” he said.

Right after the opening notes, the orchestra took the stage and, as the string players completed their tuning, the conductor began the evening with Visual Music by Camille Kerger.

The programme continued with the soloist performances. Alongside the conductor and orchestra, each soloist performed their own piece. The first part of the programme featured works by Albena Petrovic, Victoire Yau, Romain Zante and Alfred Schtuni, combining solo instruments such as flute, accordion and violin with string orchestra. The section concluded with Poème élégiaque by Eugène Ysaÿe.

The soloists included: flautists Candice Diederich (Luxembourg), Evaëlle Faure (Luxembourg) and Carla Emily Schulte-Hermann (Austria); violinists Eloisa Aubert (Luxembourg), Ugnė Katinskaitė (Austria) and André Wintgens (Luxembourg); and accordionist Gaspard Elia (Switzerland).

The audience greeted each artist with warm applause and ovations after every piece, which prompted several musicians to return to the stage for additional bows. Most of the soloists were children, while adult musicians formed the core of the orchestra.

After the intermission, the programme continued with vocal and instrumental works, including the world premiere of Albena Petrovic’s Trois mélodies d’après Amelia Earhart (three songs inspired by Amelia Earhart), followed by René Mertzig’s Konzertstuck for trombone and orchestra in a string transcription, and Pierre Thilloy’s Inferno for violin and strings.

Trombonist Lisa Gales (Luxembourg), violinist Ugnė Katinskaitė (Austria) and mezzo-sopranos Emma Penzo and Nicole Maria Adorno took on the solo roles in the second part of the concert.

These performances did not leave the audience any less captivated than during the first part of the concert.

Valentin Besson, Production and Artistic Coordinator of the Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, explained to the public that the programme selection resulted from a long reflection focused on the present and on living composers active in Luxembourg and the Greater Region. He also outlined how an open call helped to create a repertoire database, which then formed the basis for auditions.