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The Wiener Kammerensemble (= WKE; original name: Wiener Philharmonisches Kammerensemble; English: Vienna Chamber Ensemble) was founded in 1970 by some prominent members of the Wiener Philharmoniker and quickly established itself as one of the best chamber ensembles of its kind. Starting from classical literature for septet and octet, the WKE ranges in the repertoire for strings and winds from quintet to nonet (including all the Divertimenti con due corni by W.A. Mozart); from classic to modern.
Appearances all over the world document the presence of the WKE in musical events of the highest international level: in music metropolises such as the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Opera of Sydney and the Kölner Philharmonie, in major festivals such as those in Vienna, Salzburg and Ravenna. The group orients itself towards the best Viennese tradition and completes its concert activity in Europe and America with LP & CD recordings, television and radio recordings.
In 1997, the year of the Franz Schubert celebrations, the WKE prepared a new critical edition of the famous composer's Octet Op.166, clarifying some traditional practices contained in the original text, improving the corrections made in the first edition to the original, and reassessing certain traditional traditions. The result of this work was presented in a concert at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg and filmed by the Unitel company, on the very day of the Schubert's 200th birthday.
In 2001 there was a generational change in the WKE context: the ensemble was enriched by the presence of Benedict Lea (2nd violin) and the two soloists Tobias Lea (viola) and Tamás Varga (cello), some of the most authoritative representatives of the new generation strings within the Wiener Philharmoniker. In the coming years the repertoire will also be expanded with numerous works by 20th century composers (Krenek, Paul Hindemith, Françaix, Henze, Wellesz, etc.) which will be the fulcrum of the future artistic projects of the Wiener Kammerensemble |
