Hauschka. Live at Hanzas Perons

On Wednesday, April 30, at the cultural venue "Hanzas perons," the renowned master of prepared piano, composer, and Academy Award winner Volker Bertelmann, also known as Hauschka from Germany, will return to Latvia for a solo concert.

To be fair, Hauschka’s concert in Riga, at "Hanzas perons," was originally planned for last November. News of the event circulated among internet users, tickets were on pre-sale, and an official announcement was just a click away. However, it was later announced that Bertelmann would need to spend significant time in the United States at the end of last year, participating in the publicity campaign for the film Conclave (directed by Edward Berger, 2024). As it turns out, Bertelmann composed the score for this film. Recently, the musician was seen dining at a hotel restaurant in Los Angeles with the creators of All Quiet on the Western Front, hoping to win one of the six Golden Globe nominations awarded for achievements in cinema or television that Conclave had received. While the film did not win this time, it seems unlikely that Hauschka dwelled on it for long, especially as the film and its score are strong contenders for the Academy Awards. Two years ago, his collaboration with director Berger was successful, earning him an Oscar for the music in All Quiet on the Western Front.

Before Düsseldorf native Volker Bertelmann became a recipient and nominee of prestigious awards, gaining recognition as a film music composer, he was, as a pianist and producer under the name Hauschka, a passionate seeker, discoverer, and explorer of the new and unconventional. From an early age, he has experimented with the piano, surprising himself, others, and even the instrument itself with the boundless uniqueness of its sound when "prepared" (from the term "prepared piano"). Bertelmann treats his closest partner—the grand piano—as an acoustic body, which he has adorned with adhesive tape, felt pieces, and other materials and objects since the beginning of his creative career. While his commitments to film and studio work in recent years have limited his live performances, each appearance remains special. Whether performing in clubs or concert halls, Hauschka transforms these spaces into sound laboratories, where audiences witness a harmonious interplay of intuition and meticulous analysis.

Hauschka’s albums also surprise listeners, venturing into new, challenging arrangements. From electronic sounds to the "pure material" of his 2019 album A Different Forest, he conveys the essence of human existence and diversity through music. His works explore profound questions about our shared future, as in What If (2017), or reflect on the urban lifestyle's expansion to the brink of collapse, as addressed in Abandoned City (2014).

A detailed introduction to Volker Bertelmann, aka Hauschka, as an extraordinary figure in piano composition and a "mad professor" with fantastically obsessive work habits could continue for some time. However, one could pause to reflect on the insightful words of artist and animation film director Edmunds Jansons, who observed that awards and trophies make things more noticeable but do not change the fact that something good was good from the very beginning. Hauschka's music aficionados, as well as those who witnessed his previous visits to Latvia in 2008 and 2015, already know this. And those encountering the artist for the first time at the concert at "Hanzas perons" this April will undoubtedly discover it as well.

Tickets for Hauschka's concert on April 30 at "Hanzas perons" are available through the "Biļešu Paradīze" ticketing network. Currently, tickets are priced at €42.00. As the concert approaches, ticket prices will increase. A limited number of unnumbered seats are available. Tickets purchased for the previously scheduled November 2, 2024 concert remain valid.