The Basel Philharmonic Quintet was founded in 2013 in Gstaad. It is the first permanent chamber music ensemble comprised of musicians from the Gstaad Festival Orchestra (Menuhin Festival, Switzerland). The high calibre of its members is testament to the hugely productive and influential musical partnerships between the Basel Chamber Orchestra, the Mulhouse Symphony Orchestra and the Baltic Sea Phi
lharmonic Orchestra. Their musical success is based not only on a solid core of standard wind quintet repertoire, but very special “Basel Phil arrangements” that give audiences the opportunity to discover well-known masterpieces from different angles and in a more intimate space; recent works have included Ravel’s “Bolero” and Piano Concerto in G, Dvořák’s “American” quartet, Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps”, Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, and a number of Mozart piano concertos. The Basel Philharmonic Quintet has made a great impact with its education program, particularly Timokhine and Vásárhelyi’s “Greenpeace” arrangement of “Peter and the Wolf” - a unique and engaging approach to classical music appreciation which also embraces environmental awareness.
