PREMIERE ON FRIDAY 10 JUL 21:00
During the lock-down in Germany, a few concerts were canceled. As the same time, the start of the new brought a lot of work from 2019 with it, therefore I felt like taking more time with new releases. In this situation I spent a great deal of time in the studio, I had quite a lot of fun recording bits and pieces like I used to, back during my start as Hauschka. For you guys, I also decided to invite you to my studio and play a session with a long improvisation that is inspired by sound research and the fun of finding surprises. In times where I have the feeling that we are sometimes stuck, I think sound research and inspiration can help us to let loose and find worthwhile activities that can give something in return for yourself and the outside world. I hope that every one of you is healthy and I am hoping that I can spread around some optimism with this performance.
Before the world came to know him as an Oscar-nominated pianist, producer and composer, Volker Bertelmann had long been very keen to absorb countless influences and push his creative limits. He was only nine when he first took to the piano, and quickly began experimenting with just how different he could make it sound. He was curious to see if he could give the family piano a pop music feel; however, having no synthesiser, he lifted the lid and stuffed tags next to the hammers, in order to change the tone of each note that he played. Though he was satisfied with the results, others in the household were not so enthusiastic. “My mum”, laughs Bertelmann, “wasn’t very happy about that.” While Bertelmann has made a name as a solo artist - for which he goes by the name of Hauschka, playing hundreds of improvised shows each year and producing music at a prodigious rate - much of his very best work has come in partnership, be that for theatre, TV or film. He has recorded with the Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn, and composed alongside Múm, the Icelandic experimental musical group, for the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra as their artist in residence. In 2016, he joined forces with Dustin O’Halloran, the American pianist and composer, to devise the soundtrack for Lion, the directorial debut of Garth Davis. This soundtrack would go on to be nominated for multiple awards, including the 2016 Oscar for Best Original Score, the 2016 Golden Globes for Best Original Score, and Best Film Music at the 2016 British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs. He composed the score for Patrick Melrose, Showtime’s Emmy-and BAFTA nominated mini-series, and for Gunpowder, the HBO mini-series starring Kit Harington. In 2018, he accepted an invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.