Many people know his music, but not his name: Gerd F. Schumann. The composer of the music for Wim Wender's commercial "Havana Club Rum" releases a solo piano album in which he enables listeners to look deep into his heart. Date: 4th September 2015.
The title track "You smell so good" is a jazz ballad and is in perfect harmony with 10 other tracks from the genres of classical crossover and piano chill out music.
Gerd F. Schumann narrates in his sound pictures a number of imaginative tales.
One of these stories focuses on John, a young man with a unique fondness for dancing outside whenever there's a downpour, whirling around in the pouring rain with his arms out wide.
While her mother is away, Fumiko, a small Japanese girl, dares to rummage through her dressing table and while she tries out all of her mother's colourful make-up, she sees how all of the masks and faces from her fairy-tale books gradually come to life in the mirror.
"Incense in the air" is a piece that uses its duration of nearly 9 minutes to conjure up the magical silence found in an empty church interior directly after mass. This music, however, is anything but silent. After "You smell so good", it is actually probably the most breakneck challenge in terms of playing techniques.
"Angelica Silvestris" actually focuses on the medicinal herb that has been used over millennia. In this sound composition, minimalistic cascades come together to produce a uniquely changed perception of time.
In contrast, time seems to have stood still in the piece "Recently in the aquarium". Who would have thought that 205 seconds of silence could be such a pleasurable listening experience?
A slightly less peaceful but melancholic track is "On the old garden swing", which is reminiscent of a black-and-white shot from bygone childhood days and makes listeners want to ask the composer whether this slow waltz with playful variations is actually a homage to Chopin.
In a combination of piano chill out, jazz and classical crossover compositions, the tracks on this album come together to form an ensemble of entertaining and harmonious contrasts: an enchanting soundscape of visions and memories.
These eleven piano pieces are bursting with virtuosity yet simultaneously gentle and catchy, representing a difficult technical and musical challenge for all other pianists. The notes for the music can be obtained from www.leomusic.cologne
The career of the composer Gerd F. Schumann, who was born in Bonn, Germany, on 18th February 1956, has been through many different stages. He is not only known as the creator of theatre music, but also spent more than twenty years working on the stage as a performing musician in a multitude of theatre productions.
He built the foundations for his musical creations by completing a degree in Music at the Cologne University of Music and Dance in the subjects of piano, harpsichord, conducting and composition.
He also studied Philosophy at the University of Cologne. His passion for musical theatre then led him to complete acting training at the theater 'Der Keller'.
As a freelance composer, some of Gerd F. Schumann's most important clients include the Stern magazine in Hamburg, the broadcaster WDR in Cologne, Mitsubishi Electric Germany, Stonesoft Finland, Various Voices Berlin, EBD Interpartners Düsseldorf and the Lübbe-Verlag publishing house.
Gerd F. Schumann lives and works in Cologne, Germany.
The title track "You smell so good" is a jazz ballad and is in perfect harmony with 10 other tracks from the genres of classical crossover and piano chill out music.
Gerd F. Schumann narrates in his sound pictures a number of imaginative tales.
One of these stories focuses on John, a young man with a unique fondness for dancing outside whenever there's a downpour, whirling around in the pouring rain with his arms out wide.
While her mother is away, Fumiko, a small Japanese girl, dares to rummage through her dressing table and while she tries out all of her mother's colourful make-up, she sees how all of the masks and faces from her fairy-tale books gradually come to life in the mirror.
"Incense in the air" is a piece that uses its duration of nearly 9 minutes to conjure up the magical silence found in an empty church interior directly after mass. This music, however, is anything but silent. After "You smell so good", it is actually probably the most breakneck challenge in terms of playing techniques.
"Angelica Silvestris" actually focuses on the medicinal herb that has been used over millennia. In this sound composition, minimalistic cascades come together to produce a uniquely changed perception of time.
In contrast, time seems to have stood still in the piece "Recently in the aquarium". Who would have thought that 205 seconds of silence could be such a pleasurable listening experience?
A slightly less peaceful but melancholic track is "On the old garden swing", which is reminiscent of a black-and-white shot from bygone childhood days and makes listeners want to ask the composer whether this slow waltz with playful variations is actually a homage to Chopin.
In a combination of piano chill out, jazz and classical crossover compositions, the tracks on this album come together to form an ensemble of entertaining and harmonious contrasts: an enchanting soundscape of visions and memories.
These eleven piano pieces are bursting with virtuosity yet simultaneously gentle and catchy, representing a difficult technical and musical challenge for all other pianists. The notes for the music can be obtained from www.leomusic.cologne
The career of the composer Gerd F. Schumann, who was born in Bonn, Germany, on 18th February 1956, has been through many different stages. He is not only known as the creator of theatre music, but also spent more than twenty years working on the stage as a performing musician in a multitude of theatre productions.
He built the foundations for his musical creations by completing a degree in Music at the Cologne University of Music and Dance in the subjects of piano, harpsichord, conducting and composition.
He also studied Philosophy at the University of Cologne. His passion for musical theatre then led him to complete acting training at the theater 'Der Keller'.
As a freelance composer, some of Gerd F. Schumann's most important clients include the Stern magazine in Hamburg, the broadcaster WDR in Cologne, Mitsubishi Electric Germany, Stonesoft Finland, Various Voices Berlin, EBD Interpartners Düsseldorf and the Lübbe-Verlag publishing house.
Gerd F. Schumann lives and works in Cologne, Germany.
