The last time Volker Bertelmann stopped by NPR to perform as Hauschka, back in 2010, he dumped handfuls of Ping-Pong balls and anything else he could think of over the strings of our in-house grand piano, a performance captured in one of NPR’s pristine studios (in a building that no longer exists). But for the Tiny Desk, the pianist and composer assumed the challenge of preparing our significantly smaller upright in a much-less-controlled environment.

It’s hard to spot everything Hauschka deployed for this mostly improvised set, but after dismantling much of the piano’s cabinet, he stuffed the strings with tin foil, a glob of pink putty, cellophane, piano tuner mutes, sleigh bells, gaffers tape and whatever else he could rummage from a large bag of toys he carries with him.

Hauschka is joined by cellists Carol Anne Bosco and Devree Lewis who, since the set was mostly improvised, were told to simply come on “about 10 minutes” into his performance. Note that the songs are named for the location they were performed, in this case “Washington,” and numbered. The closing cut, “Loved Ones,” is from his latest album, Philanthropy.

Bertelmann’s performance at the Tiny Desk comes just over a year after winning an Oscar for his score to the film All Quiet On The Western Front.

— Robin Hilton | April 24, 2024

SET LIST
“Washington One”
“Washington Two”
“Washington Three”
“Loved Ones”

MUSICIANS
Hauschka, aka Volker Bertelmann: piano
Carol Anne Bosco: cello
Devree Lewis: cello

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Robin Hilton
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Michael Zamora
Tiny Desk Team: Hazel Cills, Kara Frame
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#nprmusic #tinydesk #hauschka