Hemma Bach
I love music and I have been composing for as long as I can remember. I learned to read because I wanted to read and write music. I wanted to write down the music that is inside me. I play the piano, the organ, the viola and the baritone piano, enjoy dancing and taekwondo – and spend time in the forest every day.
My music
One of my very first pieces is called "Balletto", because I like to dance. At the age of four, I wrote among other things a "Peace Song" for children's choir, viola, and piano. When I was five I wrote a concertino for viola and piano, then a piano sonata and many other things. My longest piece of music so far is one that I wrote when I was six: a ballet titled "Princess Dirtyfoot" for which I wrote the story too.
Special Musical Moments
Creating music and sharing it with others brings me joy.
Very special moments included premiering the Concertino for Viola and Piano, which I composed, and performing the viola part at a charity concert. Accompanying a church service for the first time when I was four, and later playing the Christmas services on the organ – including my own piece about the joy and hardship of Christmas – felt truly magical. It is always a joy for me to perform for others. On the organ, it is a bit easier, because people can't see me and are not distracted by the fact that I am still young.
In May 2025, I was possible for me to play as a soloist with the Salzburg Philharmonic under Elisabeth Fuchs, performing the first movement of Mozart’s KV 414 with a self-composed cadenza, while the orchestra premiered my “Suite for Princess Dirtyfoot.”
The complete ballet with choreography was then premiered in the fall of 2025 – it was such a cool experience!
And when I'm not making music...
... then I usually hum to myself. I love being in the forest with my dog for hours every day, in any kind of weather. I really enjoy reading books in German, English, and French, preferably series with multiple volumes. I also have a lot of fun building Lego and programming. My favorite games are Quartett, Scrabble, and Qwirkle.
I often hear people say that that is completely crazy. Do you think any of the composers in this book would have let that stop her? Exactly! Neither do I. And that is also what I wish for you: have fun, don't let anything stop you, even if the work is hard and other people shake their heads – do what is important to you and what makes the world better and more beautiful.