The Vienna-Berlin Connection

Biography

Philharmonix

‘Entertainment at the highest conceivable level,’ declared Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel of the ensemble: Founded by members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Vienna Philharmonic, the Philharmonix play everything they've ever wanted to. Their trademark? Brilliant arrangements, unrivalled virtuosity and an irrepressible desire to make music together. Their repertoire includes jazz and Latin, Jewish folk music, Hollywood melodies and pop - so while not everything is classical music, but everything has musical class. In their new arrangements, the seven musicians bring an original perspective to familiar works, and skilfully combine things that don't quite belong together: Mozart and Falco, Bach and Beatles, Mambo and Beethoven. When Bach's C major Prelude is suddenly accompanied by Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, the effect can astonlish; classical music is seldom more entertaining. The Philharmonix concerts are characterised by the sound aesthetics and tradition of the top orchestras for which the musicians usually work: Thilo Fechner (viola), Daniel Ottensamer (clarinet) and Ödön Rácz (double bass) play with the Vienna Philharmonic, Stephan Koncz (cello) and Noah Bendix-Balgley (violin) with the Berliner Philharmoniker. They are joined by the outstanding soloists Christoph Traxler (piano) and by Sebastian Gürtler (violin), who writes most of the arrangements alongside Stefan Koncz. Their declared aim: ‘The idea is to make your head full of happiness, your heart full of joy, and your legs want to dance.’