It’s very pleasant to see that the prepared technique hasn’t died with the recent waning of popular interest in the sonic possibilities of classical piano playing. With such modern technological advances in the field of musical instrumentation, most would treat the act of preparing or altering an acoustic piano by hand as a menial task that could be more easily achieved by the twitch of a knob or the slight touch of a button or two. Regardless of which technique you ascribe to, the difference has been working for Volker Bertelmann, virtuoso of the method scribed above and known to most by the moniker Hauschka. Anyone who is familiar with his recorded output, specifically 2008’s nostalgic Ferndorf (TMT Review), would more than likely agree with the previous statement. If you happen to agree, luck has it that Hauschka will be gracing the stage at a few select US venues with fellow pianist Dustin O’Halloran in support.
Just a tad late on this report, so by now he’s probably in transit to Seattle (it was a short tour), but in a few days he’ll also be in San Francisco, accompanied by members of Magik Magik Orchestra. And then he’s off to Europe with James Blackshaw and Nancy Elizabeth.
Dates:
03.24.10 - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
03.25.10 - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall
03.26.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Forever (Masonic Lounge)
04.24.10 - Barcelona, Spain - Electronica en Abril
05.10.10 - London, UK - Barbican @
05.12.10 - Cambridge, UK - Junction @
05.13.10 - Bristol, UK - St George @
05.14.10 - Oxford, UK - Holywell Music Room @
05.15.10 - Manchester, UK - Band on the Wall @
05.16.10 - Edinburgh, UK - Roxy @
06.03.10 - Recklinghausen, Germany - Ruhrfestpielhaus Marquis von O.
06.04.10 - Recklinghausen, Germany - Ruhrfestpielhaus Marquis von O.
06.05.10 - Recklinghausen, Germany - Ruhrfestpielhaus Marquis von O.
@ James Blackshaw & Nancy Elizabeth
• Hauschka: http://www.hauschka-net.de
• FatCat: http://fat-cat.co.uk
