Volker Bertelmann – aka Hauschka – has earned a remarkable reputation as a purveyor of imaginative, distinctive, prepared piano music.

The Düsseldorf pianist released numerous solo albums (e.g. Abandoned City, Salon Des Amateurs, Substantial), toured the world, contributed to dance performances (Swan of Tuonela) and worked with a variety of musicians and ensembles (The New Romantics, Lost). Additionally, Bertelmann is a successful soundtrack composer who wrote the stunning scores for a number of documentaries and feature films, not least James Franco’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle and, alongside Dustin O’Halloran, Lion, for which they’ve both been nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award. His latest project is his eighth solo studio album called What If, which is likely to prove one of 2017’s most original albums. While at the same time inspiring questions about the very nature of the world we inhabit, What If redefines the very notion of piano music in a dramatic and exceptional fashion and underlines Hauschka’s status as a unique and invaluable artist.