About
The New York Times describes Jozef van Wissem as “both an avant-garde composer and a baroque lutenist, and thus no stranger to dichotomy.” With his striking all-black baroque lute, van Wissem has spent years reshaping the perception of the instrument, pushing it beyond classical boundaries into hypnotic, cinematic sound worlds…
The New York Times describes Jozef van Wissem as “both an avant-garde composer and a baroque lutenist, and thus no stranger to dichotomy.” With his striking all-black baroque lute, van Wissem has spent years reshaping the perception of the instrument, pushing it beyond classical boundaries into hypnotic, cinematic sound worlds that are both minimal and immersive. His performances have been called meditative, otherworldly, and darkly transcendent, often unfolding like rituals that balance silence and intensity.
Van Wissem is perhaps best known for his award-winning collaborations with filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, including the Cannes Soundtrack Award–winning score for Only Lovers Left Alive. He has worked with artists such as Tilda Swinton and Zola Jesus, composed for HBO’s Irma Vep, and toured extensively across the globe, performing everywhere from underground clubs and rock festivals to churches and art-house cinemas. In recent years, his live scores for silent horror classics like Nosferatu (1922) and The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) have earned critical acclaim, praised for their ability to evolve from delicate lute passages to walls of sound that evoke gothic atmospheres, drone, and even death metal.
