Bernward Koch is an internationally renowned
pianist, despite not being introduced to the instrument
until he was 15 years old. Having originally focused on
other instruments, including the French horn and trumpet,
Bernward went on to study music at a University in Cologne.
In 1989, he released the highly successful album Flowing,
which later was released world-wide on the Real Music label.
Several albums followed, including Journey to the Heart and
Walking Through Clouds- both albums achieving critical
acclaim and an International release on Real Music.
Bernward's latest CD,
Montagnola,
is a highly personal, semi-biographical and
semi-autobiographical musical exploration of the famous
German novelist Hermann Hesse. It achieved ‘Piano-Heaven
Gold Status’ in May 2008. Bernward kindly agreed to an
interview exploring the thinking behind this fascinating
album.
Enjoy the interview....
S.C.
Congratulations, Bernward, on your stunning new album,
Montagnola
which is dedicated to Hermann Hesse. I'm sure there are many people you admire,
so what is it about this novelist, poet and painter that has impressed you so
much?
B.K.
Thank you very much! Well, Hermann Hesse (pictured below right) was the first writer
who I found truly inspiring, and he opened my eyes to "other" views of life.
During the recording session, when I was improvising in an isolated room, I had
flashbacks to Hesse. I thought the music was very befitting, and so I dedicated
this album to him.
When did you first become interested in Hermann Hesse, and what
sparked that initial interest? Through researching him and the works he
produced, has he impacted upon your life- i.e. have you learned anything about
yourself or life in general? I'm also interested in the back cover of your CD in
which this quote appears, "The dedication of the album... is to be understood as
a symbolic fresh start..." could you expand on this a little?
The first novel I read
by Hermann Hesse was when I was 19. It was Siddhartha- an Indian tale. It
was such a powerful experience, like with music, but in a different form. I
learnt life could be more than just a "normal" life; to be free is a very
important thing, especially to have inner freedom. And, Hermann Hesse was a very
individual person- very independent in his thinking. Montagnola is the
name of a place- a small village near Lugano in the south of Switzerland- where
Hesse made a fresh start in life after the First World War in 1919. For me, life
has felt like a treadmill sometimes, so I too have made this new start.
I enjoy your CDs very much. Typically, they include electronic
embellishments (i.e. use of synthesisers), but these are conspicuous by their
absence on Montagnola and you have opted for solo piano. Why was that?
(Incidentally, I think the work is all the better for it).
Yes, the
Montagnola album is not a typical studio production, just live
improvisations on a grand piano, recorded during special moments in a special
room, "without a net". I very much like to work and record in the studio with
synthesizers, keyboards and many other instruments, but in this case, I felt I
must try this new way, to achieve the outcome I wanted.
Music
means telling stories" (a quote from your web-site). I think it's fair to say
you're telling several stories with this album, so let's explore some of them.
‘Maulbronn’ is my favourite track- it's extremely relaxing and almost minimalist
in form. Achingly beautiful! I believe it is referring to the monastery within
the city of Maulbronn....
Thank you- indeed it is. I visited the monastery
at Maulbronn
(right and below right)
regularly for a couple of years; it is a world like in medieval times, and I
felt like I was in the past. When I played this track during the recording, it
suddenly reminded me of standing between the ancient walls and stones at the
Maulbronn monastery during my visit. It was a contemplative moment where time
seemed to stand still, actually like during the whole recording process for this
album.
I remembered that in this place,
Hermann Hesse tried a mysterious escape in March 1892; one of the early ideas
for his novels, “Narcissus and Goldmund” and “Beneath the Wheel”
(like Hesse’s novel "Steppenwolf", the inspiration also for the
US rock band).
I must ask you about Playing Children, which is unusual
because it lasts just 35 seconds! I know Hermann Hesse had a difficult
childhood- he ran away from home, he tried to commit suicide and indeed at one
point was placed in a Mental Institution. I am probably reading too much into
this, but I was wondering if the length of the track was representative of the
lack of happiness within his upbringing- or is the track about something
different altogether?
Well,
the inspiration for this track came when I "saw" playing
children in a hidden alley. They were uninhibited and imaginative, and the place
could be the city of Calw during the 1880s- Hesse’s birthplace in the Black
Forest.
So, you had "spiritual experiences"
during the making of this album? Is that correct?
Yes, it is. But it's
not easy to describe that feeling. In addition to that experience, I had some
very special moments; a mixture of concentration, contemplation, meditation and
nothingness, especially during the playing of the tracks
Montagnola, Waves of Time and Dream. I think it is
basically impossible to repeat those special moments.
You were telling me a little about Snow is Coming. It's a
lovely little story- perhaps you could share it with us.
When I was sitting at the grand piano during the recording session, I looked out
of the window and saw snow blowing down from the hills; within seconds it was
covering the whole air, and simultaneously the keys of my piano became those
dancing snowflakes.
So, I'm intrigued. Is this album a
selective biography (i.e. picking out key moments) of Hermann Hesse's life
captured in music, or is it a musical exploration of the part of
your
life you have dedicated to researching this man (or indeed is it a combination
of both?)
Yes, it is a combination of both.
But it is the impression his work has made on me too; he can express things that
would normally be impossible to say in words. I very much like so many writers,
not only classical authors, and Hesse was my first.
I'm also intrigued by the fact that these tracks are
improvisations. There are different degrees of improvisations, ranging from a
one-take completely spontaneous recording errors-and-all, to an improvised theme
which is then explored further and "perfected" before the recording process.
Could you talk the readers through your preferred recording process in this
album?
In fact, I sat at the piano without any ideas. It was a risk, but
one that I felt I should take, like a live concert in a wonderful atmosphere.
The recording room was the Ratssaal at the town hall in Wenden, NRW. There is a
very pleasant sound in this cherrywood boarded room with a nice view of a green
valley. Only the recording engineer (Sebastian Meyer) and I were in the whole
building, so we had the right silence and the best ambience to get my full
concentration with the keys, to channel the music.
Fountain
is amazing; a real rush of energy for forty seconds! How did this piece come
about?
It’s
simple;
sometimes I just
like to play the piano with only the black keys in a pentatonic scale. It sounds
like a harp and reminds me at sparkling water.
My other two favourite tracks on your CD are Dark and
Black and White, both of which I find very beautiful. Can you give the
readers some insight into the thinking behind these wonderful pieces?
With
Dark I didn't feel myself; I don’t know why at that moment, it just
happened. But later I felt like staying
outside alone on a pitch-dark night.
Black and White was a little jazzy improvisation; I felt like the keys on
the piano, black and white, and suddenly I felt I had to change the mood to
catch a breath…
I think the music you have composed for this album is probably
the very best I have heard from you. Would it be fair to say that if you are
deeply passionate about something, it fires your creative juices musically?
Well, I had put troubles behind me, and I wanted to start afresh.
I think to keep oneself active (when possible) is always the best way to move
forward, and to make a better way of living. Do the best that you can to make
this happen.
We've mentioned seven of the tracks in this fifteen-track CD. Are
there any others that have interesting "roots" that you would like to share with
the readers of Piano-Heaven?
All my music is an expression of my
soul. Montagnola is a special snapshot. While playing the piece
Montagnola, the longest track on the record, I really felt like I was flying
over hills on a warm summer's night. Gentle and quiet, this track instilled a
desire in me to secure peace. And tracks like Dream and Waves of Time
go along similar lines.
Norwegian Memory is an imaginary journey through the landscape of Norway,
but the destination is vague…
Thank You for Your Love is
for a beloved human being. The very first track that I played and recorded is
actually the final track, A New Life- and is true to the motto of Hesse:
"Be yourself".
Your music has been released on the Real Music Label, which has
world-wide distribution but is based in America. To the best of my knowledge,
you're the only European artist on their roster, which is a real feather in your
cap. How did the relationship with Real Music come about?
My first record deal was with the Erdenklang label, and the
founder, Ulrich Ruetzel, had good contacts with different Labels in the USA too.
So when he visited the United States in the early nineties, he secured an
agreement with the Real Music company, initially to release my very first
record, Flowing, and this was instantly a hit in the States and paved the
way for further releases.
For my final two questions, we're going to reminisce and then
look forward! So, when did you first start playing the piano? Were you formally
trained? Do you play any other instruments? Is the piano your preferred
instrument or does it depend on the subject matter? Can you talk a little about
your first "break"- i.e. the first time you realised that you could make a
career with your music? Who were (if any) your musical influences?
I started playing the piano at 15. I received classical lessons,
but I quickly started to improvise and began to compose little pieces. At the
same time, I played the trumpet in a marching band, and started to play the
drums, percussion, guitar and bass-guitar. I played in local bands. The piano is
actually my main instrument. I like synthesizers and electric pianos too, but
it’s very importand for me to compose sometimes on other instruments as well, or
only in my head; you can take an acoustic guitar anywhere, for instance, and
therefore you are more independent.
My first real "break" in music I had when I was sixteen. The
German rock legend
Kraan had a gig in our region during the Summer of 1973. I will never
forget that; I was totally absorbed by the music, and from then on I knew I must
be a professional musician. In the Summer of 2006, the Kraan keyboardist was
taken ill one day before a big festival, and they asked me to step in for him.
So I performed for the first time in two festival gigs with Kraan; it was really
great.
I’m influended by many musicians, such as Bach, Beethoven,
Mozart, Ravel, Debussy and many, many more. I love Coltrane, Miles, Weather
Report, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead- so many bands of today and yesterday,
and music styles like electronica and dance too, actually music in all genres,
but with quality. One of the biggest influences for me is Nature. I live in the
country, and the landscape is always a good source of inspiration to me.
Finally,
what next for you? Musically, is there anything you have wanted to try but not
yet done so (working with an orchestra, combining different instruments in an
album, etc. etc.?) And, sneaking this one in here, when away from the piano /
keyboards, what do you do to relax?
I am
currently working on my next album. It will be a little bit more rhythmical. I
play most of the instruments (piano, keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion), but I
will add some other instruments too. I’m not sure yet which instruments! It is
very important that the music has the right harmonic balance. In my studio, I
work with Steinberg Cubase 4, use mainly VST plugins from Native Instruments,
and have a view into a green landscape- it’s a perfect ambience. We all need
Nature on our planet, each and every one of us is responsible for the well-being
of Nature, so I’m glad about organisations too like BirdLife or Nabu. The best
way to relax for me is go for a walk in a gentle landscape.
Thank you, Bernward, for giving
this fascinating interview.
S.C.
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