Germany
Recordings
- 2011 – Preisträgermusik
- 2014 – In Good Company
- 2018 – Schwerpunkt
- 2022 – Iannis Xenakis: Eonta
Group Biography
Already with dozens of new works, created in close collaboration with some of the most innovative composers of our time, Ensemble Schwerpunkt’s goal is to expand upon the conventional tonal and instrumental possibilities of the brass repertoire.
Founded in 2009 while studying at the HMTM Hannover, the ensemble quickly established itself by winning the first prize at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition in Berlin in 2012 and the International Jan Koetsier Competition in Munich in 2013. They then went on to complete a specialised contemporary chamber music Master’s Degree in Basel.
In its early years, the ensembles’ programmes strived to promote existing works from recent decades, while also starting to commission new pieces. This synthesis culminated in their first CD, “Schwerpunkt,” released in 2019, with seldom-before recorded pieces from Benedict Mason, Pascal Dusapin, and Sofia Gubaidulina, as well as new works from Vassos Nicolaou and Jarkko Hartikainen.
Numerous collaborations with composers have led to projects with Vito Žuraj, Bernhard Gander, Richard Ayres, Benedict Mason, Vassos Nicolaou, Zaneta Radzewka, Johannes X. Schachtner, Mike Svoboda, and countless others. They have also commissioned and premiered works from most of the aforementioned composers. Their second CD, featuring brass works by Iannis Xenakis and in conjunction with WDR and Bastille Musique, will be released this fall.
Their performances and recordings have been broadcast on nearly all major German radio networks and they have been featured in such festivals across Europe as SWR’s Jetztmusik, die Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, Tage der Neuen Musik Bamberg, the Transart Festival, Musik der Zeit, Die Niedersächsische Musiktage, Musik21 Festival, Klangbrücken Festival, Time of Music (Musiikin aika), Ars Nova, aDevantgarde, Unerhörte Musik, and the German Radio’s (DLF) Forum Neue Musik, among others.