Luxembourg-based musician Pascal Schumacher is a vibraphonist, composer and producer known for a luminous blend of minimalism, jazz and electronic color.
His current focus is a three-part homage to Philip Glass: GLASS ONE (solo EP, early 2024) and GLASS TWO (duo with pianist Danae Dörken, released November/December 2024 on Neue Meister, marked by a release concert at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on 8 November 2024). GLASS TWO recently won the OPUS KLASSIK 2025 in the New Classic category. GLASS THREE will conclude this trilogy with an orchestral album planned for 2026/27.
Alongside this, Schumacher co-leads SINGÜLAR with Sebastian Studnitzky and Edward Perraud—an improvising trio fusing pulse, space and electronics; their debut album is out on all streaming platforms and will be physically released in January 2026. A Yamaha Artist, Schumacher studied classical percussion, jazz vibraphone and musicology in Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Brussels and The Hague. His discography spans solo statements and collaborations, and his recent agenda features European duo and trio dates. Listeners often remark on the narrative quality of his vibraphone sound—focused on resonance, clarity of line and ensemble empathy.
Questions and Answers
3 FACTS
1. Virtuosity serves best when it disappears.
2. Minimal doesn’t mean small; it means essential.
3. Vibraphone bars: the only bars that raise spirits without alcohol.
11 QUESTIONS
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
I am largely inspired by moments, situations, settings, and states of my mind that evoke all kinds of feelings inside me. And then there is always a first sound that determines in which direction a composition has to evolve.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I started playing in the local brass band when I was a kid, my father was the tuba player in that ensemble and I worked hard to become their drummer.
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Serge Gainsbourg : Histoire de Mélody Nelson
Henry Purcell: Fantasias for the Viols by HESPERION XX and Jordi Savall
Ryuichi Sakamoto : Async
Jonathan Fitoussi : Plein Sud
Brian Eno : Music for Airports
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
The groove of that city!
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
The fields and the forests around my house. I love running and cycling in the fairytalish Luxembourgish countryside.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
I’d most probably be an architect.
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
The last album I bought: the 1985 NYCO recording of Philip Glass’s opera Satyagraha, directed by Christopher Keene—quiet resolve, long lines, Sanskrit text turned to light.
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I’d love to collaborate and compose a ballet music for Akram Khan!
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
A couple of years ago. Sokolov playing Beethoven’s Elf neue Bagatellen at Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
More and more, but it is not essential. Really it depends on the kind of music I am working on.
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
My sister may not share my taste, but she shows up, brings friends, and I sense a quiet pride when she sees how much they enjoy it.
