Besides Toscanini, other conductors in the festival’s «salad days» included Bruno Walter, Ernest Ansermet and Vittorio de Sabata. The year 1943 witnessed the formation of the Swiss Festival Orchestra, with élite musicians from all of Switzerland. This ensemble, which played under such commanding fi gures as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan and Otto Klemperer, contributed noticeably to the festival’s rapidly growing prestige, holding concerts on an annual basis until 1993. Under the leadership of executive director Michael Haefliger (since 1999), the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA was co-founded jointly with Claudio Abbado in 2003. Since 2004 the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ACADEMY, headed by Pierre Boulez, has placed a major focus on music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Easter Festival has taken place on an annual basis since 1988, as has the marathon Piano Festival, held every November since 1998.