Bios & promo — benchmark artistes

German pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann starting playing piano from age 8 and was classically trained. Through his teenage years he experimented by getting involved in a few local rock bands. In 1992 he began a hip-hop act with his cousin known as God's Favourite Dog. The duo's biggest hit 'Love and Pain' saw them gain some international success which allowed them to tour the world. This success was only brief and soon Bertelmann moved to Düsseldorf rediscovering his love for classical music. Assuming the alias Hauschka after the bohemian composer, he released his debut album 'Substantial' in 2004. Soon after he began experimenting with prepared piano which became a significant element of his distinctive style. There is no denying the incredible talent of this great virtuoso, but you really have to see it to believe it. With the piano's lid open for all the strings visible to see, Hauschka sits ready to begin the spectacle. There is no shortage of miscellaneous items that he gradually adds within the top of the piano, creating an interesting and intriguing approach to classical music as he adds several dimensions, continuing to manipulate the sound. The audience stare entranced by Hauschka's spontaneity, there is always something visually for them to see. His fluidity is remarkable, playing sets of 70 minutes feels like 10 minutes as you find yourself getting lost. Hauschka is a pure genius and even more magical to watch.

Volker Bertelmann (born 11 October 1966) is a German composer, pianist and former rapper who mainly performs and records under the name Hauschka. He is best known for his compositions for prepared piano. He won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his score for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022).

Hauschka is the pseudonym of Volker Bertelmann, a truly exceptional artist who has forged his own path. Raised in Northern Germany, his interest in electronic sounds began when he was a teenager. When major success didn't materialize, he entered a phase of musical exploration, which ended with a return to the piano, specifically the 'prepared piano.' This technique, popularized by John Cage, involves augmenting the piano strings with everyday objects to expand its range of sounds.

German pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann starting playing piano from age 8 and was classically trained. Through his teenage years he experimented by getting involved in a few local rock bands. In 1992 he began a hip-hop act with his cousin known as God's Favourite Dog. The duo's biggest hit 'Love and Pain' saw them gain some international success which allowed them to tour the world. This success was only brief and soon Bertelmann moved to Düsseldorf rediscovering his love for classical music. Assuming the alias Hauschka after the bohemian composer, he released his debut album 'Substantial' in 2004. Soon after he began experimenting with prepared piano which became a significant element of his distinctive style.

Volker Bertelmann (born 11 October 1966) is a German composer, pianist and former rapper who mainly performs and records under the name Hauschka. He is best known for his compositions for prepared piano. He won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for his score for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022).

Celebrated pianist, film composer (including his Oscar-nominated Lion score) and artist Hauschka, aka Volker Bertelmann has crafted an extensive, deeply atmospheric music catalogue over the past fifteen years, becoming particularly renowned for his innovative approaches to classical instrumentation. Since the release of his breakthrough album The Prepared Piano (2005), Hauschka has taken 'traditional' keys into intrepid contemporary territories, transforming its sounds by placing various items (from electric motors to household objects) on or between the instrument's strings, hammers and dampers to create percussive, orchestral and sustained effects. Hauschka's creative range reflects his diverse background (he grew up making music across genres from rock to hip hop), as well as his long-held love for the piano in its purest form – and the latter passion becomes the focus of his latest album, A Different Forest, and tonight's live performance at Milton Court.

He's a "sound searcher", says pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann, alias Hauschka, about himself. This search began for Bertelmann inside his piano, preparing it with drawing pins, table tennis balls, rubber erasers, any material imaginable, and so transforming it into an analog, mechanical synthesiser. Improvisation on a piano that can sound like a drum, then like an electronic effects device, like a tin or a gamelan orchestra – while all the time reminders of a romantic nocturne float by –, is still the basis of Bertelmann's music today. But since his 2005 album "The Prepared Piano", the sound searcher has steadily extended his musical space; "Room To Expand", the title of his fourth album, speaks for itself. And so it was really only a matter of time before his sound searching led Bertelmann to that most sophisticated of all sound bodies, the big symphony orchestra. The orchestral works, just published by Bosworth, trace a part of the road Bertelmann travelled from the 10 finger orchestra of the prepared piano and the album format, to the heavy gear and the extended form. "Madeira" and "Children" had already been arranged for a chamber ensemble on Hauschka's album "Foreign Landscapes" (2010); "Penn Station" arose from the orchestration of an unpublished piece for a string quintet. "Puppen" in contrast exceeded the constraints of the 5 minute track right from the start, the piece was composed as an overture for Kevin Rittberger's play of the same name. With his latest composition "Cascades", Bertelmann has finally produced a work conceived as a large triptych for orchestra and choir. Long-standing fans of Hauschka's poetically fragile prepared piano sounds have always had something to learn with each new album; "Abandoned City" from 2014, for example, sounds a lot gloomier and weightier than anything known from this artist up to then. With the orchestral works, another a new facet of Bertelmann's music has now been added: the monumental. In "Penn Station", for example, a typical Hauschka melody achieves almost Bruckneresque sound dimensions with the four horns in unison. But even though the sound of Bertelmann's music changes from project to project, a certain view of the world, which manifests itself in tones, remains the same. Bertelmann summarised these constants of his sensitivity in four words: "beauty, ephemerality, melancholy and absurdity." His domain is the densely atmospheric mood landscape; many of his pieces resonate with a romantic yearning – and not just because their composer seems to have a liking for minor keys. Bertelmann's music is for the most part restlessly in motion, but it never arrives anywhere, or – to be more accurate –, it's always already there. The music revolves in circles; repetition is its building block. From short, memorable phrases, constantly repeated, Bertelmann puts together a rhythmic mosaic of small pieces. In detail, his music is finely chiselled and on the move; as a whole it seems almost static. The fundamental, melancholic feeling of being in a state of floating, somewhere indefinable between loss and departure, was the subject of Bertelmann's to date most comprehensive orchestra work "Cascades".

German composer and pianist Hauschka enchants listeners once again with his latest album, 'Philanthropy'. Known for his experimental and unconventional approach to music, Hauschka invites listeners on a mesmerizing journey through intricate piano melodies and captivating electronic layers. The album is a beautiful blend of classical and contemporary elements, showcasing Hauschka's unique ability to blur the lines between genres. With each track, 'Philanthropy' evokes a sense of introspection and emotion, inviting listeners to open their hearts and minds to the power of music. Hauschka's masterful musicianship and thought-provoking compositions make 'Philanthropy' a must-listen for any music lover.

Hauschka is the pseudonym of Volker Bertelmann, a truly exceptional artist who has forged his own path. Raised in Northern Germany, his interest in electronic sounds began when he was a teenager. His technical abilities landed him roles in various bands and he even toured with the German indie hip-hop group God's Favorite Dog as an opening act for Die Fantastischen Vier in the early nineties. When major success didn't materialize, he entered a phase of musical exploration, which ended with a return to the piano, specifically the 'prepared piano.' This technique, popularized by John Cage, involves augmenting the piano strings with everyday objects to expand its range of sounds.