Since its founding in 1990, the Ensemble Musikfabrik, a state ensemble of North Rhine-Westphalia, has become one of the leading contemporary music ensembles. True to its name, the ensemble is committed to the commissioning and production of new works. This Cologne-based international ensemble of soloists presents its work, often carried out in close collaboration with composers, in numerous concerts both at home and abroad, at festivals, in its own self-organized concert series ‘Musikfabrik im WDR’ and ‘New Music Monday’ (often with live broadcasts) and in audio and video recordings.
WERGO released the CD series Edition Musikfabrik with cover art by Gerhard Richter, which the artist himself selected for the CDs. In 2014, the ensemble founded its own in-house Label Musikfabrik.
A key concern of the musicians is to explore experimental forms of expression in music and performance. Interdisciplinary projects that include live electronics, dance, theatre, live video and the visual arts expand the traditional form of the conducted ensemble concert. Thanks to its exceptional profile and outstanding artistic quality, Ensemble Musikfabrik is in demand as a partner for major conductors and composers worldwide.
Since 2013 the ensemble has owned a complete reconstructed set of Harry Partch’s instrument-creations. Many compositions have been created specifically for or with these instruments, under the title Pitch 43_Tuning the Cosmos. The brass players’ double-belled instruments are another outstanding feature of the ensemble’s experimental spirit.
