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Philharmonix

Germany / Austria

About

„Entertainment on the highest possible level“ (Frederik Hanssen, Der Tagesspiegel, 16.2.18)

The Vienna Berlin Music Club – that’s what the Philharmonix call themselves. Founded by members of the Berliner and Wiener Philharmoniker, they play the kind of repertoire one would never see on the playbill of their legendary orchestras. Their trademark: brilliant arrangements, incomparable virtuosity and, above all, unlimited pleasure in making music together which leaps over to the listener in a matter of seconds. According to the latest projections, the stylistic mix consists of 30 % classical, 20 % jazz, 15 % folk, pop and Latin each and 5 % other genres. So it’s not all classical music but everything has class in their music. In their dazzling new versions, they acquire a taste for the unique sides from all compositions, never heard before – and skilfully put together what otherwise does not belong together. In Johann Strauss’ ouverture to “Die Fledermaus”, “Der Dritte Mann” creeps in after just a few bars. “The Elephant” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Carnival of the Animals” meets its companion from Henry Mancini’s “Baby Elephant Walk”. And the “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen suddenly shines over Bach’s Prelude in C major. Whether the Philharmonix are working on pop songs or folk songs, Prokofiev or Tchaikovsky, Gershwin or Piazzolla: classical music could not be more diverting, entertaining, or sophisticated. Their music is characterized by the sound aesthetics and tradition of the top orchestras they usually work for: Thilo Fechner (viola), Daniel Ottensamer (clarinet), and Ödön Rácz (double bass) all play with the Wiener Philharmoniker, Stephan Koncz (violoncello) and Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin) with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In addition, there are the outstanding soloists Christoph Traxler (piano) and Sebastian Gürtler (violin), who together with Stephan Koncz are the genius minds behind the compositions of the ensemble. Their claim: “The head needs to be joyful, the heart needs to be cheerful, and the leg needs to twitch”.

 

The ensemble records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon and released their two CDs “The Vienna Berlin Music Club Vol. I“ and “The Vienna Berlin Music Club Vol. II“ in 2018 and 2019. “Classical music without borders” – rarely has a category been more appropriate than in the case of the Philharmonix, which were awarded with the OPUS KLASSIK 2018 for their first CD. The classical music expertise proven for all members does not turn out to be a barrier, but rather an inspirational door opener for new listening worlds. The Philharmonix have recently celebrated great success at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, where they have held a subscription cycle in the Great Hall for several seasons, as well as in the Berlin Philharmonie, in the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, at the Bergen Festival, in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, in the Konzerthaus Berlin or on their major Asian tour with concerts in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. They are looking forward to their debuts at the Dresden Kulturpalast, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Newcastle, Bristol and Aix-en-Provence. A major tour in China will follow in March 2020 and several concerts in the United States in April 2020.

 

Daniel Ottensamer (Klarinette)
Noah Bendix-Balgley (Violine)
Sebastian Gürtler (Violine)
Thilo Fechner (Viola)
Stephan Koncz (Violoncello)
Ödön Rácz (Kontrabass)
Christoph Traxler (Klavier)

 


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