Join Hugo Max as he accompanies The Last laugh by F. W. Murnau this
spring with live soundtracks on solo viola.
Following the success of his 2024 UK Tour, the violist and filmmaker improvises scores to German filmmaker’s most powerful works at cinemas across the UK:
Max’s soundtracks draw on the dramatic and heightened worlds of these films, incorporating musical
styles and techniques developed during the time of their conception. His vivid performances breathe
new life into Murnau’s symbolic narratives and chiaroscuro imagery, exploring these films as cautionary
tales for current times.
Following revived interest in the original Nosferatu after last year’s Hollywood remake, this tour shares
Murnau’s wider oeuvre with UK audiences. Alfred Hitchcock expressed his admiration
for the director’s work while based at the German studio where The Last Laugh was in production. He
would be inspired by Murnau’s innovative moving camera which proposed an intensely sensorial
cinematic language not previously seen on screen.
