Pittsburgh pianist Tom Roberts is reissuing his solo piano score for the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu via Rivermont Records for the Halloween season, shifting away from conventional horror score beats to focus on German Romanticism and traditional Romanian music.
When the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society initially commissioned Roberts to restore the classic film for its 100th-anniversary screening on March 4, 2022, the jazz expert expected to write a horror score. Instead, viewing the feature-length film reframed his entire approach. Rather than merely mirroring onscreen events, Roberts structured the project around emotional depth, isolation, and beauty.
The Bottom Line
- The Release: Originally released to the public in 2025, the score is now receiving a reissue by Rivermont Records just in time for Halloween.
- The Musical Framework: Eschewing standard horror movie sonic cues, Roberts drew direct inspiration from classical composers like Schumann, Schubert, and Brahms, alongside Romani music.
- The Composition Process: Roberts composed the feature-length arrangement entirely away from the keyboard using Liszt-inspired transcription techniques before performing every note solo.
From Centennial Commission to Record Store Shelves
The project began when Roberts sat down to watch the century-old vampire film in full preparation for the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society’s anniversary event. The pianist, known for his arranging work on Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, realized quickly that the silent vampire narrative offered much more than horror.
“The film gave me far more to work with than horror,” Roberts stated of the score. “It’s a story about longing, isolation and beauty, and the music needed to hold all of that, not just the fear.”
Following its initial live accompaniment performance—where Roberts devoted nearly every waking hour to composing and playing the feature-length runtime single-handedly—the work was released to the public in 2025. Now, Rivermont Records is bringing the release to collectors on both CD and vinyl.
Channeling Liszt, Brahms, and Romani Traditions
Rather than relying on the familiar vocabulary of horror soundtracks, Roberts anchored his sonic landscape in German Romanticism. He incorporated stylistic elements from classical composers Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, and Johannes Brahms. To capture the narrative, Roberts also integrated traditional Romanian and Romani music.
For sequences such as Thomas Hunter’s traveling towards Count Orlok’s castle, Roberts utilized the stylistic framework of the Romanian Romani ensemble Taraf de Haïdouks, adapting two of their arrangements for solo piano.
To keep the music from sounding derivative, Roberts avoided the keyboard during the initial writing stages. “I write away from the piano on purpose,” Roberts explained. “If I sit down at the keys first, I start reaching for what’s familiar instead of what the scene actually needs.” Using compositional techniques reminiscent of Franz Liszt transcribing Beethoven for the piano, Roberts conceptualized the score on an orchestral scale before stripping it down to solo piano keys without losing any structural depth.
Preserving Historic Sounds with Rivermont Records
Rivermont Records, established in 2003 by pianist and musicologist Bryan Wright, PhD, typically focuses on preserving ragtime, jazz, and “hot dance” music. However, Wright saw Tom Roberts’ Nosferatu project as an ideal fit for the label.
“We built Rivermont around the idea that historic American music deserves serious, modern attention,” Wright noted. “Tom’s Nosferatu score is exactly that kind of project, just coming at it from an unexpected angle. It’s one of those recordings where you don’t need to know anything about silent film to be moved by it. The music stands entirely on its own.”
| Project Milestone | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Commission | 2022 | Commissioned by the Pittsburgh Silent Film Society for the 100th anniversary screening on March 4. |
| Initial Public Release | 2025 | The complete solo piano score was first made available to the public. |
By bypassing standard genre clichés, Roberts hopes the recording bridges the gap between classic cinema enthusiasts and classical music purists.
“I didn’t want to make Nosferatu scarier,” Roberts concluded. “I wanted to make it human.”
