Acelga Quintett

Acelga is not only the Spanish term for chard, the nutritious and vitamin-rich vegetable, it is also the name of an equally energetic woodwind quintet. Founded in 2012 by the five young musicians Hanna Mangold (flute), Sebastian Poyault (oboe), Julius Kircher (clarinet), Amanda Kleinbart (horn) and Antonia Zimmermann (bassoon), the group quickly established itself as one of the leading quintets of the younger generation.

In 2013, the Acelga Quintet was awarded a scholarship from the German Music Council at the German Music Competition in Stuttgart and was included in the Council’s 58th Young Artists concert series. In the following year, the quintet won third prize in the 2014 ARD Music Competition. The group performs regularly both in Germany and abroad and it has made numerous recordings for well-known broadcasting organisations, such as Bayerischer Rundfunk, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Saarländischer Rundfunk and Deutschlandradio. For its debut album Bohemia in collaboration with SWR and GENUIN classics, the quintet received a special prize from the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation.

Critics have praised this exceptional ensemble’s unique combination of soloist bravura and chamber music sensitivity: “The musicians communicate between each other with technical brilliance, precision, freshness, passion and a rich palette of colours.” All five players are members of prestigious German orchestras and are also active as soloists. In the quintet, they come together to form a homogeneous group characterised by subtlety of expression, refined ensemble playing, charismatic joy in performing and interpretive authenticity.

The members of the Acelga Quintet met while they were playing in prominent youth orchestras and academies, such as the European Union Youth Orchestra, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, and the Orchestra Academy of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a quintet, they have developed a broad and varied repertory that includes the classics of the quintet literature, arrangements of well-known compositions and rarely performed works that range from the early classical period up to the 21st century.

The group continually explores all the possibilities for dynamic contrast and sound color inherent in this exciting instrumental combination. “No other ensemble dared to risk so much dramatic vitality and variety of nuance“, wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung after Acelga Quintet’s performance at the prestigious ARD Music Competition.

Photography: Franziska Gilli

The artist's homepage:

https://www.acelgaquintett.com