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Work of the Week – Ludger Vollmer: Concerto for violin, lower strings, wind and percussion
- 7 Nov 2022
Music to cope with loneliness: In his Concerto for violin, lower strings, wind and percussion, Ludger Vollmer provides an insight into his feelings on a lack of freedom. This piece was written for violinist Gernot Süßmut to be premiered with the Staatskapelle Weimar under the baton of Dominik Beyrich on the 13th of November in der Weimarhalle.
Ludger Vollmer – with a violin concerto through the crisis
The pandemic was a challenging time for countries, communities and individuals on a global scale and Vollmer is no exception here: In Lockdown 2020 he used composition as a means to process these alien experiences. Born was the pictorial Concerto for violin, lower strings, wind and percussion, consisting of a melodic six-tone formula, out of which grows into this four movement, 34-minute long work.
Within this musical formula Vollmer emulates the “form of a seagull”, a nod to those occasionally spotted above the waters in his home town of Hamburg. In each movement the seagull takes shape in different themes, with which the composer presents his narrative in musical form.
I composed my Concerto for violin, lower strings, wind and percussion during lockdown in 2020. This oppressive and onerous period of enforced restrictions was not easy for myself and my family. My work provided the key to survival. - Ludger Vollmer
Born 1961 in Berlin, Vollmer began his career as an engineer before he decided to study music in 1984. He studied violin, viola and composition in Weimar and Leipzig and graduated in 1990. Vollmer's works range from sacred music and world music projects including improvisations to large-scale opera.
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Illustration: Adobe / Lina
