Marc L. Vogler
6 Questions for the Composer
Marc L. Vogler is composer, pianist and conductor and winner of the German Music Competition 2022 in the composition category. His work ‘Clockwork’ was awarded third prize in the 2024 ‘Nocturne’ competition and is available at Carus.
Your first composition…
…was a piano song that I composed when I was six years old. It had the beautiful title “Der Wackelzahn” (The Wobbly Tooth) and, following its premiere at home, it was not published by any major publishing house.
Which other composers inspire you?
Above all, Igor Stravinsky, whose music I love, and Leonard Bernstein, whom I admire as a complete work of art, as a “person of music”. Then, of course, Bach and Mozart, without whose music I couldn’t live, and similarly Ravel and Ligeti. Among contemporary composers, Unsuk Chin and John Adams in particular inspire me.
Your most emotional musical experience to date:
…was probably the premiere of my Requiem for bass, choir, organ and orchestra, which I composed during the Covid-19 pandemic. After the long, silent lockdown and the seemingly endless uncertainty as to whether the piece would ever be premiered at all, that day in September 2022 was especially moving for me.
Where do you prefer to compose?
I’m tempted to say in the shower. Because that’s where you get the best ideas. Or while driving. It’s always the place where you don’t have anything to write with!
What are you working on at the moment?
As part of my residency at Dortmund Opera I am currently working on a second opera, which will be titled Who Cares? and will premiere next year. I’m also composing a choral piece for the Cologne Gürzenich Choir called Sonst ist Stille (Otherwise There Is Silence), based on a poem by Heinrich Böll, and that will also premiere in 2025.
When you’re not composing or making music, then …
… I am sleeping.
Marc L. Vogler
Clockwork
Carus 9.312/00
Marc L. Vogler is a German composer, conductor, and pianist, praised as a “Pioneer in Composition” by Rheinische Post and described as “Icily Full of Truth” by Olivier Latry. He won prestigious awards, including the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb 2022 and the Berlin Philharmonic’s Opus One 2020. From 2024 to 2026, he will serve as Composer in Residence at Oper Dortmund. His works have been performed by renowned orchestras like WDR Sinfonieorchester and featured in major venues and festivals across Europe and beyond. Vogler’s compositions have also been broadcasted on major German media and commissioned for notable events such as BTHVN 2020 and AchtBrücken festival.
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