Volker Bertelmann

Although he sometimes uses his own name for some of his film scores, as Hauschka, Düsseldorf, Germany's Volker Bertelmann reimagines the potential of the prepared piano for the 21st century. A technique that involves inserting objects between the instrument's strings or onto its hammers to expand its sonic and operative possibilities, the prepared piano dates back to the late 19th and early 20th century. Hauschka's music touches on the work of the technique's innovators, such as Erik Satie and John Cage, nods to early keyboard works by Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and Steve Reic...