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Stories   >   Hauschka: Philanthropy - Clear-eyed, considered and infused with optimism / THE IRISH TIMES

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Hauschka: Philanthropy - Clear-eyed, considered and infused with optimism / THE IRISH TIMES

Posted: October 26, 2023

Although Volker Bertelmann is one of the most recognisable 21st Century proponents of what is known as prepared piano, one whose sound is altered by the insertion of alien objects between or upon its strings, hammers and dampers – he was barely aware of the champions of such a practise when he first began his experiments. Even John Cage was a largely unfamiliar name that fateful day when he sat in the studio of his friend Adam Fuest and, frustrated by the sounds he was making, starting placing random objects into the instrument. 

What's stranger still, one might think, is the fact that Bertelmann's first forays into the public world were with major label hip hop act God's Favourite Dog and a drum and bass quintet called Nonex. But, when you listen to his music closely, this perhaps makes more sense than you'd initially think: the sound of HAUSCHKA has always been both instinctive and fuelled by a love of rhythm. Bertelmann, you see, is clearly a man who knows his instrument – quite literally – inside out, and he's as unafraid of approaching it with a fresh sensibility as he is capable of drawing upon an unusually broad church of influences. 

Volker Bertelmann’s first album in four years is emblematic of an artist who never stands still. Philanthropy by Hauschka takes the richness from that word and action as its root

THE IRISH TIMES - Siobhán Kane writes….Volker Bertelmann’s first album in four years after 2019's A Different Forest takes us to a different kind of landscape, to more clarifying, clear-eyed terrain, but then a sense of progression has always been key for Bertelmann – never one to repeat himself, he has explored such diverse interests as techno in 2011's Salon Des Amateurs to utopia in 2017's What If.

Philanthropy takes the richness from that word and action as its root, and consequently infuses the record with a deep sense of optimism. It is present in every composition; it’s there in the rolling arpeggios of Diversity, harnessing a wistful minimalism, and the elegant mischief of Inventions. Detached conveys an eerie quality, conjuring a sense of anxiety about the passage of time, and Limitation of Lifetime is an album highlight, reminiscent of a Debussy Prélude, it is possibly the most traditional in ways, but the most affecting.

Nature is a haunting piece that complements Science, with its beautiful plucked piano strings, and the chamber music of Loved Ones is completely gorgeous, which seems to channel some of Morricone’s mastery of melody, it is doomy, dubby and sensual. Magnanimity is all glacial melancholia, offset by Altruism and its cheerful rhythms – like Demis Roussos at a wedding, and Noise is an exhalation of sorts, a sonic sigh, but not a weary one, it is a considered ending for a considered record.

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