Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror

A masterpiece of silent film, F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror) was first seen in 1922. Just over a century later, in February 2023, Nosferatu was screened in Zurich with a new 90-minute score by the American film composer Christopher Young, whose name is closely linked with the horror genre. His score for Nosferatu was premiered by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, conductor Frank Strobel – a master interpreter of film music – and the organist Saya Hashino. “Magnificent,” “Powerful,” “Breathtaking,” “Dramatic, visceral and utterly terrifying,” were just some of the accolades the score received after the premiere. “I love what horror films have allowed me to do as a composer,” says Christopher Young. “If you make yourself available to the ‘Invisible World’, the dark, mysterious world that lives with us, and you try to capture that in the music, it’s so rewarding. I’ve done so many horror films, but this is probably the biggest thing I will ever do.