Ludger Vollmer: Violin Concerto & Transformations Gernot Süßmuth, Staatskapelle Weimar & Dominik Beykirch

• Ludger Vollmer (b. 1961): Concerto for Violin and Orchestra:
• 1 Vollmer: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: I. Modus (Ruhig Fließend) 08:33
• 2 Vollmer: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: II. Hoquetus (Adagio, Liberamente) 06:28
• 3 Vollmer: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: III. Scherzo rhitmica (Con Brio) 05:01
• 4 Vollmer: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra: IV. Concerto Grosso 10:11
• Transformations for Solo Violin:
• 5 Vollmer: Transformations for Solo Violin 09:31
• Total Runtime 39:44

Info for Ludger Vollmer: Violin Concerto & Transformations

A small, free-floating melodic formula develops into four movements, full of rhythmic energy and formally structured. With the freedom of a seagull gliding over the water, a fascinating sound world unfolds over nearly 40 minutes.

Ludger Vollmer's Concerto for Violin, Lower Strings, Winds, and Percussion was composed in 2020 during the lockdown as a commissioned work for the Staatskapelle Weimar and reflects the atmosphere of that exceptional period.

The starting point of the composition was a six-note, free-floating melodic formula without a fixed rhythmic scheme, which the composer associates with the image of a seagull gliding over the water and which shapes the entire work. In this four-movement violin concerto, each movement carries its own thematic profile, through which Vollmer presents his musical sound world and his way of storytelling through rhythmically melodic composition.

Over nearly 40 minutes, the composer's musical universe captivates with a dense, narrative sound world and clear formal design.

Gernot Süssmuth, violin
Staatskapelle Weimar
Thüringer Bach Collegium
Dominik Beykirch, conductor

Please Note: We offer this album in its native sampling rate of 48kHz, 24-bit. The provided 96kHz version was up-sampled and offers no audible value!

Gernot Süßmuth
made his debut as a soloist with an orchestra at the age of nine, subsequently winning prizes at various competitions. After completing his studies at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, he held positions as concertmaster with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Berlin. Since August 2002, he has served as First Concertmaster of the Staatskapelle Weimar.

In 2018, Gernot Süßmuth founded the Thüringer Bach Collegium, with which he recorded violin concertos by Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar and orchestral suites by Johann Bernhard Bach. Both recordings have received high praise from the music press. Since 2011, he has also served as Artistic Director of the WestfalenClassics International Chamber Music Festival. From 1993 to 2010, he led the European Union Chamber Orchestra.

Gernot Süßmuth is a sought-after chamber music partner. As a member of the Petersen Quartet—with whom he performed for nearly twenty years starting in 1983—he won numerous prizes at international competitions. Several of the quartet’s CD recordings were honored with the Grand Prix du Disque, the ECHO Award, and the German Record Critics' Award, and also received a Grammy Award nomination. Gernot Süßmuth performs regularly as a soloist and collaborates with other renowned chamber musicians.

Booklet for Ludger Vollmer: Violin Concerto & Transformations