THE ALLOYS ENSEMBLE

JOHN-EDWARD KELLY . FRANÇOISE GROBEN . TIBOR HERCZEG . BOB VERSTEEGH

Alloy: (æul]w£) 1. A metallic material, such as steel, brass, or bronze, consisting of a mixture of two or more metals or of metallic elements with nonmetallic elements. Alloys often have physical properties markedly different from those of the pure metals. 2. To add (one metal or element to another metal or element) to obtain a substance with a desired property. [From Old French aloi, a mixture, from aloier, to combine, from Latin alligare, from ligare, to bind.]

Three unrelated instruments of completely different origin and tradition which historically have met only rarely upon a common stage, forged together into a new chamber-music entity of improbable expressive potential: the saxophone in its original form, with its powerful, songlike voice and gentle belcanto; the violoncello, with its lavishly dark timbres and expressive basses; the piano, whose succinct clarity and orchestral harmonic possibilities provide a plastic framework for the whole; and all the sonorous variety and rich embellishment of the percussion family. Out of the union of these instruments a new palette of musical colours is born, fertile soil for fresh seeds of the composer’s fantasy. Programmes typically include a variety of combinations, and further instruments can be added as projects demand.

The Alloys Ensemble was founded in 1994 by John-Edward Kelly, the realization of an idea he had experimented with as early as 1978. After its founding, the ensemble quickly attracted the interest of leading composers from five countries who have worked closely with its musicians to attain a most perfect marriage-of-elements into this new musical alloy. The Alloys Ensemble has been heard at numerous festivals throughout Europe and has documented various works of it repertoire in radio and CD-recordings.

John-Edward Kelly was born in San Francisco. Considered one of the leading saxophonists of our time, he has concertized extensively throughout Europe, in North and South America and in Israel, as well as in countless international radio and television appearances and in 30 gramophone recordings. He has given the first performances of more than 200 works for saxophone, which he performs regularly as soloist with renowned orches­tras and in various chamber-music combinations. Kelly plays a saxophone built in 1928 to the original acoustical specifications of Adolphe Sax.  www.johnedwardkelly.com

Françoise Groben was born in Luxembourg and studied in the cello class of Boris Pergamenschikow at the Academy of Music in Cologne. In 1990 she won the Silver Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, along with various other special prizes. Since then she has performed as soloist with orchestras in Europe, Israel, Russia, the USA, and the Far East and has participated in numerous international music festivals. She has also been a member of the Zehetmair-Quartet since 1998. Françoise Groben plays a cello built by Mateo Goffriller in 1695.

Tibor Herczeg was born in Neumarkt (Siebenbürgen) in 1965. He began his formal percussion studies at the age of 10 and played his first solo-concert as a percussionist only three years later. His purused his advanced studies at the music academies of Klausenburg, Budapest and Köln (in the class of the notable Prof. Christoph Caskel), and in 1993 won the International Percussion Competition in Debrecen. Tibor Herczeg has since performed regularly as soloist and chamber-musician in many European countries.

Bob Versteegh, born in Arnhem, The Netherlands, completed his soloist exams with honors at the Sweelinck-Conservatorium in Amsterdam and then continued his studies with Frédéric Gevers at the Academy of Music in Antwerp, Yara Bernette in Hamburg, and also with Malcolm Frager. He is especially known as a chamber-musician and accompanist in Holland, many European countries and also in the USA. After many years of academic teaching in Leeuwarden, Holland, he was invited in 1996 for a full professorship at the Academy of Music in Detmold, Germany.

Contact / Further Information:

Konzertdirektion Andrea Hampl

Karl-Schrader-Str.6

D-10781 Berlin - Germany
Tel: +49 (0)30-478 26 99

Fax: + 49 (0)30-478 37 92

E-mail: hampl@konzertdirektion.de

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