Ensemble Modern is an international ensemble dedicated to performing and promoting the music of contemporary composers. Formed in 1980, the group is based in Frankfurt, Germany, and made up variously of about twenty members from numerous countries.
History
Ensemble Modern was founded in 1980 by members of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. From the beginning, the ensemble chose to organize itself democratically. There is no artistic director or chief conductor; instead, all projects, productions and financial matters are decided and supported by the musicians directly.[1][2] Currently, the ensemble combines 19 soloists from different backgrounds: Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States.[3]
Each year, Ensemble Modern gives approximately 100 concerts and an average of 70 new works, including about 20 premieres. The ensemble was declared a "Leuchtturm" or "Beacon" of contemporary culture in Germany by the German Federal Cultural Foundation in 2003. Various tours have taken the group to Africa, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, South America, Taiwan, Russia and the United States. It is regularly represented at major festivals, including inter alia, the Salzburg Festival, Klangspuren in Schwaz, the Berliner Festspiele, the Lucerne Festival, the Festival d'Automne à Paris and the Festival Ars Musica in Brussels.
In 2003, the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) was founded. The Academy, in conjunction with the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK), offers a one-year master's degree to composers, conductors, instrumentalists, and sound engineers. Additionally, IEMA provides scholarships, master classes, and various outreach programs.[5]
1985: Prize of the French foreign minister on the occasion of the European Year of Music
1987: Prize of the Critics of "Verband der Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler der DDR" for excellent interpretation during the Music Biennale in Berlin
1987: The German Record Critics' Award, Quarterly Critics' Choice 4/1987: Wolfgang Rihm – "umsungen", Peter Ruzicka – "...der die Gesänge zerschlug" (Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone; Ernest Bour, conductor)
1994: Förderpreis Musik, awards ceremony at the Academy of the Arts in Berlin
1995: Stern der Woche, Abendzeitung, for the week 19–26 May 1995, Ensemble Modern under the direction of Peter Eötvös in the course of Dance 95 (Muffathalle, Munich)
1996: 1st "Binding Culture Prize"
1997: Grammy Nomination (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) for best small ensemble performance for: "John Adams: Chamber Symphony/Shaker Loops/Phrygian Gates" (Sian Edwards, conductor)[12]
1997: ECHO: German Record Award. Ensemble of the year with the recording "Fighting the waves" of George Antheil under the direction of HK Gruber
1998: Prize of the Spanish theatre critics "best foreign production" 1998 for ›Black on White‹ by Heiner Goebbels
2000: The German Record Critics' Award – Quarterly Critics' Choice 1/2000: Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill conducted by HK Gruber
2000: 3rd prize of ›Scala‹ magazine in the category ›crossover vocal work‹
2004: ECHO Klassik: German Record Award, in the category "best ensemble / orchestra" and "best recording of chamber music" for the CD Ensemble Modern plays Frank Zappa Greggery Peccary & Other Persuasions
2006: Awarded "Artist of the Year" at Beijing Music Festival
2007: Winner of the Landmarks in the Land of Ideas, Germany, 2007.
2009: The Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie receives the Praetorius Music Prize Lower Saxony in the category "music innovation"
2009: The Siemens AG awarded the ›Kulturförderpreis 2009‹ for "into…", a project of Ensemble Modern and Siemens Arts Program in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut
2014: Grammy nomination (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) for best classical instrumental solo for "Bartók, Eötvös & Ligeti" with Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin; Peter Eötvös, conductor (Ensemble Modern & Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra)
2021: Opus Klassik: German music prize. "Ensemble / Orchestra of the Year" for the double-CD Beschenkt: 40 Miniaturen zum Jubiläum.[13]
Leidenschaft Neue Musik. Über Vielfalt und Freiheiten im Ensemble Modern. (Passion for New Music. On Diversity and Freedom in Ensemble Modern.) Documentary, Germany, 2011, 27:40 Min., Direction: Joachim Meißner und Marion Morawek, Production: Hessischer Rundfunk, Series: wissen und mehr, Premiere: 20 March 2012 on hr-Fernsehen, Contents from ARD, online-Video available until 10 March 2016.
Wenn die Bühne brennt ... Ein Porträt des Ensemble Modern. (When the Stage is on Fire... A Portrait of Ensemble Modern.) Documentary, Germany, 2011, 53:20 Min., Direction: Manfred Scheyko, Production: Hessischer Rundfunk, arte, Premiere: 5 December 2011 on arte, Contents from Musik Heute.
