Stahlquartett
Stahlquartett is a german music ensemble based in Dresden, Germany. Founded by Jan Heinke in 2001, it uses self-made steel instruments called Stahlcello (steel cello). The musical repertoire ranges from J.S. Bach to contemporary music.
History and members
current members
- Anna Friederike Potengowski
- Alexander Fülle
- Peter Andreas
- Michael Antoni
All members studied at the Dresden University of Music Carl Maria von Weber and met each other during their studies. They bring their own musical interests and ideas to the ensemble, for example, through their own compositions or arrangements that take the special needs of the Stahlquartett into account.
The ensemble's founder was the instrument maker, musician, composer, and singer Jan Heinke (1968–2022). While studying jazz saxophone, he focused on overtone singing and building sound objects. The first sound object was realized already in the 1990s. An encounter with Robert Rutman and his "Bow Chimes" in the mid-1990s gave him the impetus to create more complex instruments of his own, which led to the founding of the ensemble Steelharmonie in 1999, from which the "Stahlquartett" emerged in 2001. Jan Heinke died on April 20, 2022.
Alexander Fülle is one of the founding members of the ensemble. He studied jazz piano. Im Laufe eines sechsmonatigen Studienaufenthaltes in Columbus (Ohio) nahm er unter anderem an Workshops und Kursen mit John Abercrombie, Andy Laverne und Frank Mantooth teil.
Another founding member of the Stahlquartett is Peter Andreas. He finished his studies in composition and continued his studies for another 2 years with a focus on electronic music.
Michael Antoni started studying musicology for 2 years and then continued to study classical voice. He is a member of Stahlquartett since 2004.
Since 2023, Anna Friederike Potengowski is a new permanent member of Stahlquartett.
-
Jan Heinke -
Alexander Fülle -
Peter Andreas -
Michael Antoni
Stahlcello
Despite its unusual shape and idiosyncratic sound (more reminiscent of electronic music), the Stahlcello is a purely acoustic string instrument – albeit steel bars are bowed instead of strings. It was designed by Jan Heinke and built together with Albrecht Morgenstern in a historic blacksmith.
The inspiration came from Robert Rutman's Bow Chimes from the 1960s – a metal sculpture that can produce sounds. The Stahlcello used by the Stahlquartett are completely different from the steel cello, also developed by Robert Rutman. To distinguish them from these, the ensemble uses the German name "Stahlcello" (steel cello) for Jan Heinke's instruments.
Further influences for the Stahlcello were nail violins of Mozart's time, Ernst Chladni's experiments with vibrating plates around 1800, and various barrel instruments of the Romantic period. The ensemble's range with these instruments typically corresponds to that of a classical string quartet, but can be extended to the limits of audibility. The Stahlcello is unique in this form worldwide and only used by the Stahlquartett.
A Stahlcello consists of a metal stand on which two curved iron supports are mounted. 13 stainless steel bars of varying lengths and thicknesses are attached to each of these iron supports, determining the respective pitch. A stainless steel sheet forms the resonating body. The bars are stroked on both sides of the iron supports, thus providing the instrument with four equally tuned chromatic scales of one octave each. The range varies from instrument to instrument; the entire range of the Stahlcello extends from C1 to C4, making it larger than that of a normal string quartet. Typical of the Stahlcello is its sound and its extremely slow tone development in the lower registers. Due to its construction, low notes require a long time to fully vibrate and sound. This places a limit on the speed, which influences the Stahlcello's style of playing. The sound is primarily shaped by the resonating body. This creates sounds that are particularly rich in overtones, which can overlap in the sheet metal, thus creating additional sounds. The timbre varies from the very metallic, sometimes even rough sounds typical of the Stahlcello to sounds reminiscent of organ, trombone or orchestra.
Repertoire
The Stahlquartett utilizes the special characteristics of Stahlcello and incorporates them into their music. This creates arrangements of existing works that open up new perspectives on the reception of this often rigidly determined music. Furthermore, the possibilities of the instruments are explored and presented in specially composed works. The ensemble's repertoire includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Béla Bartók, Björk, and Wayne Shorter, as well as original compositions.
CD
- 2012: Stahlquartett
Weblinks
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
Stahlcello
Despite its unusual shape and idiosyncratic sound (more reminiscent of electronic music), the Stahlcello is a purely acoustic string instrument – albeit steel bars are bowed instead of strings. It was designed by Jan Heinke and built together with Albrecht Morgenstern in a historic blacksmith.
The inspiration came from Robert Rutman's Bow Chimes from the 1960s – a metal sculpture that can produce sounds. The Stahlcello used by the Stahlquartett are completely different from the steel cello, also developed by Robert Rutman. To distinguish them from these, the ensemble uses the German name "Stahlcello" (steel cello) for Jan Heinke's instruments.
Further influences for the Stahlcello were nail violins of Mozart's time, Ernst Chladni's experiments with vibrating plates around 1800, and various barrel instruments of the Romantic period. The ensemble's range with these instruments typically corresponds to that of a classical string quartet, but can be extended to the limits of audibility. The Stahlcello is unique in this form worldwide and only used by the Stahlquartett.
A Stahlcello consists of a metal stand on which two curved iron supports are mounted. 13 stainless steel bars of varying lengths and thicknesses are attached to each of these iron supports, determining the respective pitch. A stainless steel sheet forms the resonating body. The bars are stroked on both sides of the iron supports, thus providing the instrument with four equally tuned chromatic scales of one octave each. The range varies from instrument to instrument; the entire range of the Stahlcello extends from C1 to C4, making it larger than that of a normal string quartet. Typical of the Stahlcello is its sound and its extremely slow tone development in the lower registers. Due to its construction, low notes require a long time to fully vibrate and sound. This places a limit on the speed, which influences the Stahlcello's style of playing. The sound is primarily shaped by the resonating body. This creates sounds that are particularly rich in overtones, which can overlap in the sheet metal, thus creating additional sounds. The timbre varies from the very metallic, sometimes even rough sounds typical of the Stahlcello to sounds reminiscent of organ, trombone or orchestra.
Repertoire
The Stahlquartett utilizes the special characteristics of Stahlcello and incorporates them into their music. This creates arrangements of existing works that open up new perspectives on the reception of this often rigidly determined music. Furthermore, the possibilities of the instruments are explored and presented in specially composed works. The ensemble's repertoire includes works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Béla Bartók, Björk, and Wayne Shorter, as well as original compositions.
CD
- 2012: Stahlquartett
Weblinks
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 466: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
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