Since he couldn’t read notation as a child, Justus played exclusively by ear. He did this so effectively that nobody realised, and his career as a composer began.

Pianist and composer, Justus Rümenapp, is best known for his sensitive playing style, with which he captures the mood of his surroundings and his use of melody lets listeners escape their everyday lives.

Like many, Justus started with the recorder. He managed to pull the wool over his teacher’s eyes, as he actually couldn’t read traditional notation as a child and played by ear instead. This set him on a path to start composing himself.

His love for the piano began after a second attempt. His mother was the one who signed him up for piano lessons at 6 years old and by 16 he found he could express himself more intensively through his own compositions.

Music is not only a passion for him, but a companion through all life’s circumstances: “Music is my way of describing feelings. For me as an artist but also for my listeners, it is a form of retreat that should convey a feeling of security and home.“

Fittingly, Rümenapp composes on a Blüthner-Flügel – the so-called “composer’s piano” and it is often said that it guides him through his composition process. The pieces, “Reminiscence”, “Just Be“, “Alone“ and “Little Things“ were created here for “Out of Babelsberg”.

On 24 May, the first of five singles, “Gettare Via”, was released. The title comes from Italian, meaning ‘to set sail’, and themes of freedom and expanse are apparent.

“Last year I travelled to Norway. The breathtaking landscape inspired this composition”, says Rümenapp about “Gettare Via” and continues: “In this composition I combined orchestral sounds with clouds of sounds created with a felted piano and other effects”.

These effects are typical for Rümenapp, who loves to experiment with the piano in many ways. For example, he started to rebuild his grand piano with felt parts and erasers, playing around with effects. The piano itself is an inspiration, as well as nature, in which he spends his time doing sport among other things.

On 6 September his new album “Out of Babelsberg” will be released with the Babelsberg Film Orchestra. With his fifth album, Rümenapp would like to expand his repertoire as a film composer. So he has already scored the short film “Hope” (in collaboration with the Swiss animation studio, Pixcube) and the 2016 annual review for Deutsche Telekom.

We are happy to support Justus on this road with PR (GER & UK) and Playlisting!