Hauschka / Foreign Landscapes

Hauschka
Foreign Landscapes
(Fat Cat Records)

Volker Bertelmann is a pianist/composer known for his well received experiments with piano. During these experiments he throws everything from ping pong balls to kitchen foil into the mix, to influence the sound emanating from his instrument; Bertelmann is somewhat of an outsider, even on the avant-garde post-classical scene.
Working here under the name of Hauschka and collaborating with San Francisco’s Magik*Magik Orchestra, this is the man's most concise and yet spacious release to date: Bertelmann goes about creating an orchestral swell which expands and contracts around his idiosyncratic playing style, accentuating beauty and exposing brutal ugliness in equal measure.
'Mount Hood' is a solo piano workout reminiscent of Ennio Morricone’s softer moments. It oozes with the humble beauty of its namesake, instantly transporting the listener back to some long forgotten but seminal moment of intimacy.
Elsewhere, the musicians of Magik*Magik take the reins on 'Madiera' and the choppy but uplifting 'Sunny Mission', sometimes to the point where you can forget this is an album first and foremost by a pianist.
Perhaps that was Bertelmann’s intention all along; after the confident virtuoso displays on his previous releases, the next big challenge is surely to integrate his unique style of writing and performance into an orchestra. On this evidence, he hasn’t just succeeded but excelled.