The Axyz Ensemble was created in 2002 by musicians who perform regularly at the Karnatic Lab concerts and festivals in Amsterdam. During these concerts, the players try out music having elements that are common in non-Western music: the use of microtonality, ornamentation and a strong rhythmic development.
The goal of the Axyz Ensemble is to see how a non-Western perspective can change the performance of new music, whether by classic composers such as Iannis Xenakis and Theo Loevendie, or by younger composers who have written specially for Axyz: Louis Aguirre, Stevan Tickmayer, Jasna Velickovic, Giel Vleggaar, Jos Zwaanenburg, among others.
While Axyz occasionally plays traditional music from non-Western cultures, the emphasis lies on how other traditions can influence our music, in a modern context, and played on European instruments.
The instrumentation of the ensemble covers a wide range of colors to balance the different families of instruments (winds, strings and percussion), and includes several unusual instruments such as the contrabass flute and the contrabass clarinet.
Susanna Borsch recorders
Ned McGowan flute & contrabass flute
Gijs Levelt trumpet
Ainhoa Miranda clarinet & bass clarinet
Fie Schouten clarinet & contrabass clarinet
Peter Bogaert violin
Manuel Visser viola
Anne Magda de Geus cello
Stefan Pliquett double bass
Ere Lievonen piano
Pepe Garcia percussion
Kristina Fuchs voice
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