Philharmonix
The Supergroup, founded by members of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, plays everything they have always wanted to. In brilliant arrangements, incomparable virtuosity and an unbridled desire to make music together, they mix classical music with other genres and thereby manage to keep it entertaining.
About the ensemble
Anything goes, as long as it’s fun
The Ensemble
Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin
Sebastian Gürtler, violin
Thilo Fechner, viola
Stephan Koncz, violoncello
Ödön Rácz, double bass
Daniel Ottensamer, clarinet
Christoph Traxler, piano
The Vienna Berlin Music Club
That's what Philharmonix call themselves. Founded by members of the Berliner and Wiener Philharmoniker, Philharmonix play everything they have always wanted to. Their trademark: brilliant arrangements, incomparable virtuosity and, above all, an unbridled desire to make music together, which spills over to the listener in a matter of seconds. Their stylistic mix is 30 % classical, 20 % jazz, 15 % folk, pop and Latin, and 5 % from other genres. So not everything is classical music, but everything has musical class. In their brilliant new arrangements, they bring out new, original sides to all the compositions, skilfully bringing together what otherwise would not belong together.
Repertoir
In Johann Strauss' overture to "Die Fledermaus", "The Third Man" creeps in after just a few bars. "The Elephant" from Camille Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals" meets his fellow elephant from Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk". Over Bach's C major prelude, Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" suddenly shines. Whether Philharmonix work on pop songs or Viennese songs, Prokofieff or Tchaikovsky, Gershwin or Piazzolla: classical music cannot be more entertaining or clever. Their music is influenced 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) play with the Wiener Philharmoniker, and Stephan Koncz (cello) and Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin) with the Berliner Philharmoniker. They are joined by the outstanding soloists Christoph Traxler (piano) and Sebastian Gürtler (violin), who, together with Stephan Koncz, is also the compositional head of the ensemble. Their claim: "The head must rejoice, the heart exult and the leg twitch."
Recordings
The ensemble records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon, releasing their first two albums "The Vienna Berlin Music Club Vol. I" and "The Vienna Berlin Music Club Vol. II" in 2018 and 2019. Their third album, "The Vienna Berlin Music Club III", is due for release in September 2022. "Classical Music without Borders" - rarely has a category description been better suited than when Philharmonix were awarded the OPUS KLASSIK 2018 in this category for their first recording. The classical music expertise of all members does not prove to be a barrier here, but rather an inspirational gateway into new listening worlds.
On Stage
Philharmonix have recently celebrated great successes at the Wiener Konzerthaus, where they have held a subscription cycle in the Great Hall for several seasons, and at the Berliner Philharmonie, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Kulturpalast Dresden, Philharmonie Luxembourg and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Upcoming concerts will take the group to the Philharmonie Essen, Salzburg, De Oosterpoort Groningen, Japan and Taiwan, among others.
