N obody can accuse Jozef Van Wissem of doing things by halves. The musician, very likely the world’s most notorious contemporary lutenist, owns a sonic arsenal of eight of the string instruments: some bespoke, and all boasting remarkable features. With them he has created a huge body of work, nearly 50 titles to date. Another album, This Is My Blood is released this May. Each Easter, Van Wissem settles down to compose a new record. He finds the peace of Warsaw, where everyone has “gone away for the holidays”, more amenable for work than “noisy” Rotterdam, where he also has a flat. Playing with the norms … Jim Jarmusch (right) performs with Jozef van Wissem in Chicago in 2025. Photograph: Cindy Barrymore/Shutterstock While composing, Van Wissem hears a traditional theme or a melody, and “repeats” it. “It’s stealing, I admit it,” he says. Repeating may be “stealing”, but it is certainly not copying. For one thing, the classical lute repertoire is vast: formed by years of constant travel and re-notation.…