2 violins, viola, cello, piano (regular formation)
The Venus Ensemble made its first appearance in one of the Philharmonic chamber concerts on 20 January 2003 with a programme of works by Gubaidulina, Kodály and Shostakovich. Three musicians of the Berliner Philharmoniker – violinists Kotowa Machida and Felicitas Hofmeister and violist Julia Gartemann – together with the cellist Viola Hofmeister and pianist Tomoko Takahashi – had just teamed up with the aim of finding a niche for themselves in the still overwhelmingly male-dominated bastion of chamber music. The still young ensemble’s basic goal is creating a forum for music making, in smaller as well as variable formations, that is open to all female members of the Berliner Philharmoniker.