“AN ENSEMBLE OF THE FIRST ORDER” – Schaffhauser Nachrichten (26.09.2023)
In recent years, the Blattwerk quintet has established itself as one of Europe’s leading reed quintets and fascinates with its captivating and sensitive playing. The ensemble performs regularly at festivals and chamber music series, with subtle programmes full of novelties, such as at the Davos Festival, the Musikfestival Bern and the Murten Classics.
Personal arrangements of works by Mel Bonis, Carlo Gesualdo, John Dowland, Paul Wranitzky, Joachim Raff, Nikolai Rimsky Korskakoff, Arthur Honegger and Paul Hindemith, among others, sharpen the ensemble’s distinctive profile and enrich the repertoire.
The musicians are particularly keen to explore new avenues with this varied instrumental formation, collaborating with other artists as well as commissioning new compositions.
In addition to their work with the Blattwerk quintet, the différents musicians are members of the Proton Ensemble and the Bern Symphony Orchestra, and are regularly invited by ensembles such as the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Basel Sinfonietta, Bremen’s “Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie” and the Musikfabrik Ensemble.
In spring 2022, the ensemble’s first album, “figurations”, was released on the Schweizer Fonogramm label. It includes works by Bartók, Debussy, Feldmann and Ravel. It has been widely acclaimed by international critics and won the Deutsche Schallplattenkritik.
