Ensemble Modern

About Ensemble Modern

Ensemble Modern, founded in 1980, is one of the leading new music ensembles of the world. It unites 20 instrumental soloists from many different countries in Frankfurt, Germany. The ensemble is known for its unique working methods and organization (without an artistic director), and all decisions concerning projects, co-productions, and financial matters are made by the group as a whole. The ensemble’s extensive repertoire includes music theater, dance, and video projects, as well as chamber music and orchestral performances. Tours and guest appearances take the ensemble to more than 100 concerts each year at internationally important festivals and artistic centers.

In cooperation with the Frankfurt opera, the ensemble participates regularly in music theater productions such as the workshop series “Happy New Ears”. Together with the Symphony Orchestra of the Hessian Radio, Ensemble Modern has since 2011 sponsored the festival “cresc… – Biennale for Modern Music Frankfurt Rhein Main”. In close association with composers, the ensemble prepares some 70 new works each year, including approximately 20 premiere performances.

This has led to a unique series of long-standing collaborations with composers such as John Adams, George Benjamin, Peter Eötvös, Heiner Goebbels, Hans Werner Henze, Mauricio Kagel, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, György Ligeti, Benedict Mason, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Steve Reich, and Frank Zappa. In addition to its concert activities, the ensemble regularly presents the results of its work in radio and CD productions. In 2003, the ensemble was declared a “Lighthouse” for contemporary culture in Germany.

www.ensemble-modern.com