Biography
It was during their music studies that Heike Gneiting and Jan Schlichte began intensively exploring contemporary chamber music for piano and percussion. Initially they appeared as a duo at several festivals. After Schlichte joined the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1998, the two musicians found a soul-mate in the double bassist Martin Heinze, and their formation has been known as Nukleus.
The ensemble views itself as a sort of network for New Music. Its concert programmes feature the most diverse instrumental combinations, though always including the “core ensemble”. Nukleus relies on a fixed pool of musicians, largely members of the Berliner Philharmoniker. The Philharmonic’s special sound plays a major role in the ensemble’s musical concept.
Basing its choices on the special timbral potential of the instruments and the Philharmonie, Nukleus is committed to performing the new, and newest, music. It also seeks to combine art with music as well as music with theatre. The musicians therefore cultivate close collaborations with visual artists and composers – including “works in progress” – with the aim of developing new forms in which to present New Music. In this endeavour, the logistical and acoustical possibilities of the Berlin Philharmonie provide ideal conditions.
Musicians
Martin Heinze
Jan Schlichte
Heike Gneiting