Philanthropy Hauschka

• 1Diversity04:09
• 2Searching04:42
• 3Inventions03:22
• 4Detached05:08
• 5Limitation of Lifetime02:15
• 6Nature05:47
• 7Science05:42
• 8Loved Ones03:33
• 9Generosity04:48
• 10Magnanimity03:12
• 11Altruism04:56
• 12Noise04:51
• Total Runtime52:25

Info for Philanthropy

Für Volker Bertelmann, alias HAUSCHKA, ist Musik nicht nur ein Klang, sondern auch ein Mittel, um den Austausch von Ideen zu erleichtern und sinnvolle Interaktionen zwischen Menschen zu fördern. Obwohl er für seinen unverwechselbaren präparierten Klaviersound bekannt ist, hat der Oscar-prämierte Komponist sein 15. Solo-Studioalbum bewusst PHILANTHROPY genannt, um sein Mitgefühl und seine Offenheit auszudrücken. Die Songtitel des Albums, wie "Diversity", "Nature", "Loved Ones" und "Altruism", passen perfekt zu den jeweiligen musikalischen Kompositionen. HAUSCHKAs Alben dienen oft als Plattform, um einen Dialog über bestimmte Themen zu provozieren, und PHILANTHROPY folgt diesem Muster, mit dem Ziel, Optimismus und Energie als Antwort auf die Herausforderungen der letzten Jahre zu bieten. Das Album kombiniert beschwingte und nachdenkliche Stücke, mit Momenten der Freude, der Introspektion und friedlichen Zwischenspielen. Insgesamt stellt PHILANTHROPY HAUSCHKAs kompositorisches Können unter Beweis und dient als Geschenk, das zum Nachdenken und Feiern anregt.

Volker Bertelmann, aka HAUSCHKA
Laura Wiekm, Cello
Karina Buschinger, Violine
Samuli Kosminen, Schlagzeug

Hauschka (Volker Bertelmann)
is a composer, songwriter and experimental musician who has brought an exciting new perspective to the prepared piano. The prepared piano – a technique for getting new sounds from the acoustic keyboard by resting pieces of paper or drumsticks on the strings of the instrument - has been used for centuries, but Hauschka was unaware of the tradition when, at the dawn of the new millenium, he began exploring ways to get new sounds out of his Bechstein grand upright. “I wanted the sound of a hi-hat (cymbal) to add a percussive effect to a composition I was writing. I took foil from a Christmas cake and wrapped it around the strings [inside the piano]. From there, I was inspired to use other objects on the strings to get bass drum sounds, or tacks on the piano hammers to get the sound of a harpsichord. When I was playing techno music, I had samplers where you could get a different sound on every key. I thought it would be great to have that effect on an acoustic piano. I was not aware of John Cage (one of the first 20th century composers to use prepared piano) when I started searching for ways to alter the sound of the keyboard, but as I got more into prepared piano, I was influenced by Cage’s theories.”

The Prepared Piano, Hauschka’s first recording using prepared piano, was a solo album of spontaneous improvisations. The sounds he generated changed the course of his musical journey and he’s since used prepared piano in a variety of settings. On Ferndorf, pieces composed in honor of his childhood home in Germany, he balanced improvisation with compositions that featured cellists, trombonists and violinists playing his inventive arrangements. The ‘acoustic techno’ of Salon des Amateurs featured drummers Samuli Kosminen (Múm), and Joey Burns and John Convertino (Calexico) and dropped subtle electro effects into the mix. On Silfra, an improvised collaboration with classical violinist Hilary Hahn, he dipped into classical music and ambient pop to create an expansive soundscape. With Abandoned City, Hauschka returns to the solo prepared piano to produce an evocative work full of unexpected grace notes and mysterious sounds.

This album contains no booklet.