A keynote not to be missed. None other than Oscar winner Volker Bertelmann spoke in a keynote panel during BMIM Special. Known for his innovative use of the prepared piano as Hauschka, his compositions leave an unforgettable impression.
About Hauschka
Hauschka, also known as Volker Bertelmann for his film compositions, is a German musician, experimental pianist, and composer. While switching from his roots in rock music to a classical education in Düsseldorf, he quickly made a name for himself in film composition as Volker Bertelmann.
From his groundbreaking works to his collaborative spirit with filmmakers, dive into the secrets behind his success and discover how you, too, can take your craft in media music to the next level. Read the interview conducted by Tessa Rose Jackson at BMIM Special.
Raised in a Christian family, Bertelmann’s path to music was unconventional, marked by a deep passion that eventually led him away from a potential medical career. His experiences highlight the importance of resilience and self-belief, especially in an industry where external validation is scarce. He emphasizes the value of staying true to one’s artistic vision, even when faced with skepticism from others, and the need to be prepared for opportunities that might come unexpectedly.
Bertelmann’s eclectic background, including his early fascination with synthesizers and his diverse musical ventures, has shaped his unique approach to composition. He encourages aspiring composers to embrace their individuality and to persist through the challenging moments, as success often comes to those who are ready when the right opportunity arises.
Is your eclectic taste a very big part of you as a musician?
‘Yes, I would say even for me as a person. When we were kids in the church, we learned to sing all the Bach chorals without notes, without notation. So, every time a bass was missing in the four voices, you could sing along and know exactly how the cadenzas are working. When I now do string arrangements for films, I have an orchestrator who helps me put my ideas into notation. Still, I would never give it away to have it orchestrated because I want to know when I write something, I want to listen to it, and I want to be able to change it.’
‘When I write something, I want to listen to it, and I want to be able to change it.‘
Hauschka
‘When you play an instrument, and you have idols. When I was young, I wanted it to be like Red Hot Chili Peppers or like guys that did a lot of grunge, heavy, heavy guitars and jumping around. At one point, I could play with them as an opening act. So I was opening for Suicidal Tendencies and Public Enemy. We had a whole evening of stage diving and getting crazy. At the same time, I learned that it’s not for me to be a frontman. I was not getting something out of it and couldn’t rock and get lost. Maybe it’s also that I loved control in a way.’
‘There’s a lot of playfulness in your work. How do you approach composing for the piano?’
‘Everything is improv. For an album like my last one, I recorded around eighty tracks. And then I started to play. From those eighty tracks, I select the ones I feel this is potentially good. Then, I work with overdubs on some of them and see if they go in the right direction. When they are getting stronger and stronger, they fall into the basket of what could potentially be an album track. The others are not in the bin. I’ll use them later and slowly build an archive.
Bertelmann’s best advice is to do what you love. It’s ‘totally necessary’, in his words.
‘While touring, my audience would sometimes be writers, film people, artists, and more. In 2012, the first German director asked me for my very first film. It was a series sold almost all over the world. I lived off those royalties for quite a while.’
‘Go get field recordings and inspire yourself!‘
Hauschka
Since 2012, Hauschka has made scores for films which landed him an Oscar nomination and win later. He underlines how important it is to have someone believe in you so you can have that financial support it takes to get creative. His best advice? ‘Create something unique, organic, and something that lives in an actual space. Go out there, especially in the time that we live in, in which samples, libraries, synths and soft synths are all there. Go get field recordings and inspire yourself!’
‘My approach is always, if I can’t do it in the parameters that are there, how can I actually change the parameters to do it? One time, I went to a piano repair shop, and they had an empty frame of a grand piano. I asked them to put one string in the piano frame, and we just used the tuning hammer. We recorded the tuning process of the string in simultaneous ways, slow and fast, and different notes. We then paired those sounds with each other, which made a polyphonic lisando piano sample. Experimenting makes playing fun.’
Don’t miss out on BMIM Special 2025
On May 28 we will organize once again BMIM Special. Thé networking and knowledge event for everyone working in music media.
Get all the infoPhotos by Birgit Bijl
Text by Meike Jentjens