Taschenphilharmonie / Peter Stangel BEETHOVEN REVISITED - Symphonies 1- 9

It calls itself the smallest symphony orchestra in the world; founded 2005, the Pocket Philharmonic ("die taschenphilharmonie") is quickly making a name for itself not only in Munich’s busy classical music scene but in whole Germany. In 2005, Peter Stangel, a former "classical"opera and symphonic conductor, founded the Pocket Philharmonic. He wanted to create a unique kind of symphony orchestra that offered a fresh approach to enjoying classical music performances.

The Pocket Philharmonic is made up of just 12 to 19 highly professional musicians. Usually, the ensemble plays only one of each instrument (e.g. flute, oboe, clarinet, basoon, horn, harp, percussion and string quintet). This tiny group stands in stark contrast to a full symphony orchestra, which typically includes about 100 players. Astonishinly enough the "mighty dozen" is able to produce a volume and colours of much more than the real number of players suggests.

This is an extraordinary journey through the most preeminent of classical symphonies. With an ensemble of only 12-16 top-quality musicians, the Pocket Philharmonic Orchestra explores Beethoven's musical origins. All the great conductors and orchestras have shown where Beethoven led: how his ideas paved the way for later masters like Schumann, Bruckner and Mahler. What hasn't been shown yet is where Beethoven was: where his musical language came from, how he shifted standards and developed techniques in a completely new and revolutionary way. The Pocket Philharmonic has a new approach to this idea: instead of a full chamber or symphony orchestra, the ensemble performs as a chamber ensemble in a symphonic manner – symphonic chamber music, or chamber music symphonies, so to speak. "This is the most vivid performance of the Eroica you have ever heard" said the critics. “It makes the revolution in his music audible. "An outstanding listening experience." (Arkiv Music)