the ensemble

Opera without vocals, purely instrumental? It works well if the music is so hymnful, so vivaciously felt […]. And lo and behold – everything seems more transparent and closer in the reduced instrumentation than in the usual orchestral fullness. Otto Paul Burkhardt (AUDIO 10/2021)

The attention to detail, the irrepressible joy in orchestral sound splendor as well as the multifaceted, chamber music perspective on well-known works of orchestral and operatic literature are the driving forces of the ensemble minui.

Located somewhere between chamber music and orchestra, the ensemble, consisting of five strings and four wind instruments, has been dedicated to the musical possibilities for large chamber music ensembles with elegance and sophistication since its foundation in 2016. While the program initially focused primarily on reductions of large orchestral works, opera music gradually became the ensemble minui’s great passion. “The sophisticated arrangements of the clarinettist Stefan Potzmann mark the starting point. They […] don’t lack anything in the drama and density of the original works“. Michael Gmasz (Radio Klassik Stephansdom 03/2020)

Already their debut CD with the perceptive title “ACT I” was nominated in several categories for the German Opus Klassik 2020. Ö1 as well as Radio Klassik Stephansdom and rbb Berlin presented the recording as “CD of the week”. Homogeneous and balanced, the nine versatile orchestra musicians offer previously unheard and sound-differentiated perspectives on large-scale opera and orchestral works, … reduced to what is essential for them: the music!

The ensemble minui reduces complex opera scores from around 1900 to nonet dimensions, surprising even connoisseurs: you can hear music by Puccini, Dvořák and Strauss in a completely new way.
Thanks to the witty arrangements of clarinetist Stefan Potzmann, even as an opera enthusiast with a total affinity for Stauss and Puccini, you gain an astonishing series of new insights into well-known scores. Wilhelm Sinkovicz (Die Presse 22.01.2020)

the musicians of ensemble minui:

Anna Morgoulets

violin

"I used to follow the beautiful melodies of the singers from the pitch, I was jealous and always wanted to sing them myself. In our ensemble minui I finally managed to sing these beautiful opera melodies on my violin."

Anna Morgoulets studied violin in Russia, Israel and Austria with Elena Mazor and Pavel Vernikov. At the age of 15 she made her debut with the Jerusalem Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra with Julian Rachlin under the baton of Zubin Mehta. Anna Morgoulets gained orchestral experience with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera among others. From 2013 to 2019, Anna Morgoulets was principal concertmaster of the Kärntner Sinfonie Orchester. As a guest concertmaster she played with the RSO Vienna, the Camerata Salzburg, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Wiener Kammerorchester and the Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt. Anna Morgoulets received important impulses in the field of historical performance practice in her work with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble under Marc Minkowski, the Ensemble Matheus under Jean-Christophe Spinosi in France, the Bach Consort Vienna under Ruben Dubrovsky and as a soloist with Agnes Stradner in Vienna. In 2019 she became university professor for violin at the Gustav Mahler Private University of Music in Klagenfurt. Chamber music is one of the most important aspects of her working life. Her chamber music partners include Rainer Küchl and Emmanuel Tjeknavorian.

Polina Winkler

violin

"Diving into the maelstrom of this great music together with my colleagues and friends always gives me extraordinary pleasure."

Polina Winkler was born in 1992 in Saint Petersburg (Russia) and started playing the violin at the age of 6. After studying at the Rimsky-Korsakov Music High School (Saint Petersburg) with Prof. Alexander Stang, she studied with Prof. Anna Kandinsky at the Haydn Conservatory in Eisenstadt and later with Prof. Christian Altenburger at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Polina has won several prizes in international competitions and will be 2nd concertmaster at the Klagenfurt Stadttheater from January 2025. She is also a regular guest with orchestras such as the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Volksoper and the Graz Philharmonic.

Nejc Mikolic

viola

"An ensemble with great energy."

Nejc Mikolic was born in 1990 in Kropa, Slovenia. He studied with Mile Kosi in Ljubljana and with Hans Peter Ochsenhofer in Vienna. While still a student he performed as a soloist with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, for which he was awarded the Preseren Prize for students. After his studies he worked as principal viola player in the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Slovenian Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a member of various chamber music ensembles, he has played at numerous international festivals. Nejc Mikolic has been principal violist of the Kärntner Sinfonie Orchester from 2017 to 2022 and is teaching chamber music at the Music Academy in Ljubljana since 2021.

Sieglinde Größinger

flute

"You can only win:high level interactions, wonderful music in excellent arrangements, verve, joy of playing, ... like little cogs that fit together - that's how it should be!"

Native of Salzburg Sieglinde performs regularly as a soloist, chamber and orchestra musician in all areas, including baroque music to romantic music on original instruments as well as contemporary avant-garde music. She studied flute and transverse flute in Vienna, Graz, Oslo, Amsterdam and Brussels and completed all her studies with honors. Participation in Europe’s leading period-instrument orchestras. Co-founder of the ensemble Klingekunst and long-time member of the Platypus New Music Ensemble, with whom she has performed countless premieres. In 2018 she was awarded the Pasticcio Prize by Ö1 for her CD with world premiere recordings of the earliest Viennese flute concertos. Concerts at well-nown festivals as well as tours in Europe, central and southern America and Asia.

Wilhelm Pflegerl

cello

"Accompaniment or solo - this ensemble demands dedication and inspiration from me with every single note."

Wilhelm E. Pflegerl was born in Mallnitz, Carinthia. At the age of eight he made his first acquaintance with the cello. After pre-studies in Salzburg, he moved to Vienna to complete his concert studies with Wolfgang Herzer and Stefan Kropfitsch with honor. Successful auditions oblige him to play in the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, the Opera Graz and the Kärntner Sinfonie Orchester, where he is currently working as a principal cellist. Solo concerts with the KSO, the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Orchester Verein, Pro Musica Salzburg, the Camerata Carinthia and the Carinthian Mountain Rifle Orchestra, among others.

Clemens Böhm

bassoon

"For me, what is special about the ensemble minui is that I can suddenly explore music from great, well-known operas, which I have already played several times in a complete new way.To discover this unbelievable subtlety and with a captivating depth together with fantastic colleagues (and friends) is an experience every time."

Growing up in Styria, Clemens Böhm studied bassoon in Graz and Vienna with Johann Benesch, Stephan Turnovsky and Richard Galler, graduating with honors. Numerous master classes, both solo and chamber music, with Milan Turkovic, Bence Bogany, Stefan Schweigert and Robert Gillinger, among others, completed his education. He has been a member of the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra since autumn 2008. He has played in nearly all leading orchestras in Austria. Tours with the many different formations took him to various countries in Europe and Asia. Since 2009 he has also been working intensively on historical bassoon and has performed regularly with various ensembles. Since December 2019 he has been leading the bassoon class at the Joseph Haydn Privathochschule in Eisenstadt.

Anna Gruchmann

double bass

"The skillful arrangements and the exclusively instrumental sound give the opera's music completely new facets. For me, making music with such a finely attuned ensemble as 'minui', chamber music is the most spontaneous, profound and demanding way of creating music."

Anna Gruchmann was born in Salzburg in 1993. She studied in Linz with Anton Schachenhofer and in Munich with Heinrich Braun. She completed her master of music in Vienna with Jan Georg Leser. Anna Gruchmann played in various orchestras such as the Camerata Salzburg, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. She had contracts at the Vienna State Opera and the Kärntner Sinfonie Orchester. Since the season 2019/20 she has been a member of the Bruckner Orchestra Linz.

Stefan Potzmann

clarinet

"Originating from a simple idea, the nine musicians have meanwhile become a special sound collective. For me, it is my musical home where I not only feel comfortable but can also express myself artistically."

Born in southern Burgenland in 1985, clarinettist Stefan Potzmann is the initiator and arranger of the ensemble minui. He received his first clarinet lessons from his father Johann Potzmann, followed by studies in Oberschützen, Graz and Vienna with Gerhard Schönfeldinger, Wolfgang Klinser and Johann Hindler. He has been a member of the Kärntner Sinfonie Orchester since 2011, before that he regularly substituted in the leading orchestras in Austria. His many years of work in the Camerata Salzburg were particularly influential in terms of music. After the ensemble minui was founded, numerous commissions followed, including orchestrations for symphony orchestras, editions of manuscripts from the 18th century for first recordings on the German label CPO, as well as reductions of entire opera productions. His clients include the Cottbus State Theater, the ensemble Klingekunst, ensembles from the Vienna Philharmonics, the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Reed Quintet, the Weißensee Klassik Festival, the Kreisler Trio Vienna, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the Stadttheater Klagenfurt.

Markus Höller

horn

"The ensemble is not only linked by a shared joy of playing, but also friendship that leads to very special moments on stage for me!

Markus Höller was born in Hallein and studied in Salzburg with Hansjörg Angerer and Radovan Vlatkovic. Since 2009 he has been ass. principal horn player of the Kärntner Sinfonie Orchester. In addition to other orchestra engagements such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Camerata Salzburg, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, or the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, he has made appearances as a soloist, including in China, Germany, the Salzburger Festungskonzerten, in the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein Vienna on the french horn and on the natural horn or alphorn. In addition to these activities, chamber music is also very important to him, he has worked with artists such as Benjamin Schmid, Ariane Hering, Matthias Schorn, Daniele Damiano and the Theophil Ensemble Vienna.