For the composer and pianist Hauschka, the essence of his work lies in constantly challenging himself to new musical experimentation. His subject is the grand piano, which he approaches as an acoustic body. At the beginning of his solo career, he specialized in preparing the instrument with tape, felt, and other materials. He transforms clubs and concert venues into sonic laboratories, where the audience can experience the interplay between analysis and intuition. For his albums, he has repeatedly ventured into new experimental arrangements – from electronica to the purist approach of his work “A Different Forest” (2019). It is the diversity of our existence that he makes audible in his songs, be it global questions about the future on his album “What If” (2017), or the proliferation and decay of urban life on “Abandoned City” (2014).
Hauschka’s approach is an unconditionally interdisciplinary one. In his work with violinist Hilary Hahn, he explores the tension between classically notated and freely created music. His works for dance and theater produce a subtle dialogue between movement and sound, for example in his collaboration with the choreographer Aszure Barton and the dancer Edivaldo Ernesto. As artist-in-residence of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Hauschka has composed pieces for large orchestras and a choir. In addition, he has written numerous soundtracks for series and film under the name Volker Bertelmann, which is Hauschka’s real name. In collaboration with Dustin O’Halloran he produced the Oscar-nominated music for the drama “Lion” (2016). In February 2023 he was awarded a BAFTA for best Original Score for the multi-award-winning film, All Quiet on the Western Front.
Hauschka is a seeker whose creative drive is perpetual trial and error, and whose audience is fascinated by this open path.