Work of the Week – Ludger Vollmer: Lost World

Let’s go see the dinosaurs! On 14 May 2023 the Capitol Symphony Orchestra will perform the world premiere of Ludger Vollmer's Lost World in Offenbach, Germany under the baton of Stefanos Tsialis.

This 75-minute piece was written for the 1925 film, under the same name, by director Harry O. Hoyt. The silent film is a classic of American film history and became a model for following blockbusters such as King Kong and Jurassic Park. The long lingering of the single-shot takes combined with detailed image compositions creates opportunities for Vollmer’s dramatic musical scoring to take control as the film’s narrator and lead audiences as the screen comes to life through music. 

Silent film re-scored: Lost World by Ludger Vollmer

In Vollmer’s work, written for large orchestra, he features a different melodic theme for each character and location.

As an opera composer, I saw Lost World as an exciting artistic experiment which provided insight into the potential of melody as a narrator, transporter and transformer of psychosocial processes. (Ludger Vollmer)

Lost World was commissioned by the city of Offenbach am Main and the European Film Philharmonic Orchestra for the Capitol Symphony Orchestra. This project has been made possible by the support of the Musikfonds within the framework of Neustart Kultur, the Kulturfonds FrankfurtRheinMain and the Dr. Marschner-Stiftung.

Links:

Ludger Vollmer: Composer Profile

Lost World: Work Details and Online Score

Website Capitol Symphonie Orchester

Illustration: Orlando Florin Rosu / Adobe