About Us

Named after Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, the Aalto Ensemble strives to not only perform in usual concert venues but also fill extraordinary, unusually built places with music.

As such, thematic connections between music and literature and music are being drawn. Music that spreads throughout a space like a wave can be musically  interpreted to acoustically symbolise a wave-like motion. Gaston Bachelard referred to this process in his work “The Poetics of Space” (1958).

A life-long advocate for the humanisation of architecture, Aalto’s material of choice was often wood; it inspired through its shape and simultaneously enabled him to reject artificial materials. As musicians, the Aalto Ensemble strives to interpret music with the same undiluted expression and natural strength.

From 2009-2013 the Aalto Ensemble was a piano trio. Since 2014, the constellation is a piano/cello duo consisting of Katrin Dasch (piano) and Helke Menter (cello). However, the appointments may be subject to change, to ensure that all kinds of musical works can be interpreted.

The Aalto Ensembles Logo mirror the rows of the Aalto theatre in Essen, resembling the five-line stave.