A Different Forest

On his debut album at Sony Classical, Oscar-nominated composer and pianist Hauschka (Volker Bertelmann) describes the experience of the forest as a metaphor for the search for the meaning of life. 'A Different Forest' is the first solo album for which he completely renounces the preparation of his piano. With the album, Hauschka addresses the experience of nature as a basis for his understanding of life and its way of composing. The nature experience for Hauschka is symbolized by the image of the forest: in 'A Different Forest' I deal with the forest as a natural space and contrast with everyday urban life; to my habitat. Where do I want to live and work, what environment do I need to realize myself? In dealing with these questions, I come back to nature again and again. When hiking, you often go straight, into the unknown. You are in an environment that gives you no security, and you have to rely on your own perception to find your orientation, explains Hauschka, not only finding a basic idea of world orientation, but also the origin of his art to compose: My way of composing has a lot in common with the free hikes in nature. For me, musical ideas are waypoints in playing and playing itself is the hike that connects them. I arrange sounding ideas in a musical journey.