Horenstein Ensemble
Biography Horenstein Ensemble
Horenstein Ensemble
The Horenstein Ensemble, founded in 2008, presents the great diversity of chamber music and the interplay of different instrument groups - strings, winds and harp.
The repertoire is not limited to a certain era of music but includes works by Rameau, Mozart, Spohr, Brahms, Ravel, Messiaen, Widmann and Yun. The ensemble is also dedicated to performing English chamber music which is seldom heard in Germany, such as the compositions of Vaughan Williams, Bax, Elgar, Somervell, Arnold, Butterworth and Britten. Their collaboration with contemporary composers such as Samir Odeh-Tamimi and Allain Gaussin has resulted in works especially composed for the instrumentation of the Horenstein Ensemble.
The ensemble is named in honour of the work of conductor Jascha Horenstein, who had a strong connection to Berlin and often conducted the Berlin State Opera and the Berlin Philharmonic.
In 2011, their debut album 'Tempelhof' appeared on CD and Vinyl-LP on ACOUSENCE recordings & records.
Varying and sometimes unusual combinations of instruments are a distinguishing character trait of the ensemble, which was founded by members of the Konzerthausorchester in Berlin. Guest artists expand the number of combinations possible and in this way enrich the group.
Thus, for the current CD project 'Lost Generation' the following guests were acquired: Sophia Jaffé, violin soloist and professor at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts; Gergely Bodoky, principal flutist of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Igor Prokopets, bassist of the Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin and Julien Salemkour, conductor and pianist.
Barbara Krieger
studied German and English literature and musicology in Mainz before studying voice at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where she graduated with honours in 1996. She already began concertizing during her studies and participated in international competitions. She was a prize winner at the renowned Aslico voice competition of La Scala. Her first engagements and tours led the singer - initially a mezzosoprano - to Salzburg, Erfurt, Klagenfurt, Zagreb and to the Vienna Klangbogen Festival. In 1997, she was a member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera. Afterwards, she appeared as a lyric-dramatic soprano at prestigious opera houses including Gran Teatru del Liceu Barcelona, in Bregenz, Leipzig, Karlsruhe and at the Nationaltheater in Weimar, among others.
Other career highlights include a concert tour with the world-famous bass-baritone Bryn Terfel (2007) and her appearance at Festival MúsicaMallorca with Verdi's Messa da Requiem in Teatre Principal de Palma. In 2008, Barbara Krieger performed in a gala concert with star tenor Roberto Alagna and in the summer of 2009, she gave a riveting performance at Classic Open Air in Berlin, this time with José Carreras at her side. In 2007, Barbara Krieger initiated the CLASSIC OPEN AIR concert series in Dresden in front of the Frauenkirche and from 2007 to 2011 brought thousands of music lovers together to help various charity organizations.