The armonia ensemble
was founded in 2000 by members of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The term “armonia” comes from Italian and stands for the genre of Harmoniemusik, i.e. music for mixed wind ensemble. In addition to their daily work in the symphony and opera orchestra, the ensemble’s main objective is to devote itself energetically to chamber music for winds.

In addition to performances in their hometown, the Leipzig musicians, regularly reinforced by guests from the MDR Symphony Orchestra, appear in renowned chamber music series and at leading festivals such as at the Semperoper Dresden, Beethovenhaus Bonn, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Rheingau Music Festival, and Mozart Festival Würzburg.

The basis of the ensemble is the classical wind octet with two oboes, clarinets, horns, and bassoons. To round out the sound, a contrabassoon or a double bass is always included if possible. In special cases the nonet can be supplemented by a flute, English horn, or bass clarinet. The repertoire of the armonia ensemble ranges from the trio d’anches to the classical wind quintet and works like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Gran Partita and the serenades of Antonín Dvořák and Richard Strauss.

In addition to the original literature, arrangements, particularly from the opera repertoire, are also presented. The armonia ensemble has commissioned and performed several of the latter. The ensemble regularly collaborates with chamber music partners such as pianists Igor Levit and Franz Vorraber. They have made radio productions with Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk and Südwestrundfunk. In 2014, a critically-acclaimed CD featuring Richard Strauss’s two Sonatinas for sixteen wind instruments was released.