Innovators of chamber music

Ensemble Nikel is radically contemporary. Since 2006, the four members Brian Archinal, Yaron Deutsch, Antoine Françoise and Patrick Stadler have been exploring a completely new form of chamber music. Ensemble Nikel achieves this with an unusual electro-acoustic instrumentation reminiscent of a rock band: saxophone, electric guitar, drums and piano are the basic instruments of the four musicians with roots in the USA, Germany, Israel and Switzerland.

The ensemble performs at internationally acclaimed contemporary music festivals such as the Donaueschinger Musiktage and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. Tours have also taken the ensemble to South America and New Zealand.

The repertoire of Ensemble Nikel consists of works composed specifically for their unique instrumentation. The premieres are by key contemporary composers such as 2023 Swiss Music Prize winner Katharina Rosenberger, Chaya Czernowin and Michael Wertmüller. In 2022, the quartet released the piece "Bright Darkness" by Klaus Lang. The interpretation of this composition impressively demonstrates how Ensemble Nikel transcends musical genres and practices new forms of interplay.