Ludwig Wicki
Born in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland, Ludwig Wicki grew up in a musical environment steeped in folk and church music. He studied trombone and was a member of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra from a young age. He also pursued studies in conducting and choral conducting in Bern. Further conducting studies took him to Dresden to study with Kreuzkantor Martin Flämig and to Pescara with Professor Donato Renzetti. Alongside his studies, he dedicated himself to chamber music and founded the Philharmonic Brass Quintet Lucerne. This led to CD, radio, and television recordings, as well as an invitation to join the Empire Brass Quintet at the Tanglewood Institute in Boston. As a Baroque trombonist, he has gained extensive experience in orchestras and ensembles playing period instruments, which he now applies as a conductor. During this time, he has had the opportunity to work with renowned figures such as Andrew Parrott, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Jeremy West, and Simon Standage.
As a conductor, Ludwig Wicki explores diverse styles. As Kapellmeister of the Lucerne Court Church, he cultivates the sacred repertoire, ranging from Gregorian chant to contemporary music. His focus is on masses by classical composers (especially Haydn), the works of J.S. Bach, and Renaissance masterpieces by Palestrina, Monteverdi, Schütz, and others. As artistic director of the Renaissance ensemble “Il Dolcimelo,” he dedicates himself primarily to the works of Schütz, Monteverdi, and Gabrieli. As a conductor of symphonic concerts, his repertoire includes works from the late Romantic, Impressionist, and Viennese Classical periods, as well as chamber ensemble pieces by Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and their contemporaries.
In 1999, he founded the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra, whose artistic director and principal conductor is Ludwig Wicki. The orchestra now performs a season featuring over ten special film music projects. This has allowed him to collaborate with renowned film composers such as Howard Shore, Michael Giacchino, Patrick Doyle, George Fenton, Danny Elfman, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Randy Newman, David Arnold, and Martin Böttcher. He also has a particular affinity for classic silent films with live music by composers such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, as well as cult films like Nosferatu.
In 2008, Ludwig Wicki conducted the world premiere of “The Fellowship of the Ring” at the KKL Luzern, the first live performance of the original score to the first film in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Since then, he has conducted this work in Munich, Washington, Lyon, Sydney, London (Royal Albert Hall), and New York (Radio City Music Hall and Lincoln Center), among other venues. The world premieres of “The Two Towers” followed in 2009, and “The Return of the King” in 2010. He has also conducted the world premieres of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Fantasia,” “Gladiator,” “Star Trek,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer,” “Titanic,” “Ratatouille,” “Indiana Jones,” “Amadeus,” “Batman,” “Aliens,” “Jurassic Park,” and many more. In 2011, he conducted the premiere of the youth project “Ristorante Allegro” with the Munich Philharmonic. In 2012, he conducted the first recording of the “Lord of the Rings” Symphony. In 2014 he conducted the recordings of Michael Giacchino’s soundtrack to Jupiter Ascending, in 2015 to Book of Henry and in 2018 to Jurassic World 2 at Abbey Road Studios.
In 2007, Ludwig Wicki received the City of Lucerne’s Recognition Award for his achievements as a film music conductor. In 2013, he was awarded an Award for Excellence in Cultural Creativity by the Global Thinkers Forum.
