Difference between revisions of "Avsenik Ensemble"

Revision as of 11:03, 7 July 2015

The history of the Avsenik Ensemble goes back to 1953, when the accordion player Slavko Avsenik (1929–2015) formed his first trio and later regrouped into a quartet that also featured his elder brother Vilko Ovsenik, who actuall. Together they embarked on path on which they have – more or less single-handedly – created and developed a whole new music style, the so-called Oberkrainer music [in Slovenian called narodno–zabavna glasba, a term roughly translated as folk pop music]. With stellar success following rather soon, they fast popularised this genre worldwide and incessantly toured around Europe and North America up until 1989.

The dynamic duo of the brothers Avsenik has recorded over 800 songs, with the self-taught Slavko responsible for the tunes and Vilko, being an academic (jazz) musician, handling the arrangements, texts and notations. The latter is also responsible for the original instrumental idea of joining up an accordion, a trumpet, a baritone, a clarinet and (since 1955) a guitar. This merging of a small brass orchestra with a traditional folk trio and the incorporation of respective musical styles was their primary innovation and the foundation this musical genre. However, with the added vocals, the sound of the Avsenik Ensemble was completed and, so to say, ready for take-off.

Ansambel bratov Avsenik - Tam kjer murke cveto by jaki386 on YouTube

The band has had - mostly due to various promotional reasons - a wide variety of names. While in Slovenia they are usually know under the name Ansambel bratov Avsenik [Avsenik Brothers Ensemble], the German speaking audiences – for the reasons described bellow – most commonly remember them under the name Slavko Avsenik und seine Original Oberkrainer.

History

The Avsenik brothers, born in Begunje in the Gorenjska region of Northern Slovenia, started playing together as far back as in 1936. Then, a family quartet of the brothers and sisters Avsenik was established and played at the garden of their family inn (with Vilko on the accordion and Slavko – only seven years old at that time – on the button box). After the war, though they still occasionally played together, their courses parted and while Vilko started studying music, Slavko went for sports and was a memeber of the national ski-jumping team. Vilko got a job at the Dance Orchestra of Radio Ljubljana and after an injury prevented Slavko from further pursuing his ski-jumping career, Vinko suggested to his brother and knitter-by-necessity to join an audition by Radio Ljubljana. Slavko passed it and recorded his first few solo songs in 1953.

The early years - From Slavko Avsenik's Trio to the Oberkrainer quintett (1953 - 1955)

Slavko's first band, an accordion-guitar-bass trio was short lived, as in that same year of 1953 he and Vilko formed the Gorenjski kvartet with Vilko on clarinet, Slavko on accordion, Franc Kosir on a trumpet and Franc Ogrizek on a baritone. In 1955, with the addition of Lev Ponikvar on guitar, they became the Gorenjski kvintet and sometimes also The Brothers Avsenik Quintet.

The band had a few live gigs in at the Carinthian Radio in 1954, where they %ndash; in that same year %ndash; recorded their first few songs, among them their biggest hit, the powerful polka song Na Golici (dubbed in German Trompeten-Echo). Helmut Hartman, the editor at that radio, on his own accord translated the band's name and presented them as the Oberkrainer quintett (Oberkrein being the Austrian name for the Gorenjska region). This name has stayed as their international name (much to the displeasure of the nationalist sentiment in Slovenia) and as the band became big rather soon, the term Oberkrainer actually started denoting this particular music style. Due to the many bands (ranging from Germany to Serbia) that started to call themselves The Oberkrainer this or that, the band changed their name to the Original Oberkrainer Quintet in 1959.

When on a vacation in Austria in 1955, editor of Bavarian radio in Munchen Fred Rauch heard the band, managed to get their tapes from Helmut at the Carinthian Radio and took them to Germany to play them on his radio. Soon after, the quintet recorded their first small album with four songs for the German publishing house Telefunken, with whom they stayed for the better part of their career. The band started getting very big very soon.

The golden decades of Slavko Avsenik and his Original Oberkrainers

In 1956, the band had their first tour in France and Slavko Avsenik, by himself, had performances with his accordion and German musicians in more then 60 different Bavarian towns. In 1957, the band, which occasionally included male and female vocals even back in the times of the quartet, was permanently enlarged with vocals, at that time the singing duet of Franc Koren and Danica Filiplic.

Avsenik - Slovenija, od kod lepote tvoje HQ (original video) by Tristar3SLO on YouTube

After that, things have sort of gotten out of hand and for the next few decades, the Avsenik Ensemble has %ndash; under one name or another and with a varying cast %ndash; toured with spectacular success around the whole of Europe (being popular especially in Germany) and also North America. Especially in the first few decades, they've had somewhere between 150 and 300 performances per year and played before the crowds that could number up to 80,000. They performed at the winter Olympic games in Innsbruck and appeared on numerous television emissions worldwide (one of them was supposedly seen by more then 80 million viewers all over Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden).

Their recording track is also prolific and is due not only to the demands from the label and the audiences but also to Slavko's seemingly unending flow of new tunes. In 1964, having sold more than a million albums, their first golden record was achieved and when they've disbanded in 1989, 33 of their records were golden and all together they've sold more then 31 million records and tapes. In Slovenia, around half a million of their recordings were sold.

Band members

While the accordion was exclusively played by Slavko Avsenik, the other members were for various reasons fluctuating a bit more and included: on trumpet Franc Košir, Pavel Oman, Miro Saje, Jože Balažic; on clarinet Vilko Ovsenik, Franc Tržan, Albin Rudan, Alojz Zupan, Zoran Komač, Miha Gunzek, Vito Muzenič; on baritone Miško Hočevar, Borut Finžgar, Franc Ogrizek, Jože Kelbl, Mik Soss, Igor Podpečan, Vinko Štrucl, Ludvik Kos, Marjan legat and Slavko Avsenik Junior; on guitar Mitja Butara, Leo Ponikvar, renata Verlič, gregor Avsenik, Miha Ramšak, Hervin Jakončič; and on vocals Franc Koren, Danica Filiplič, Eva Prodnik, Alfi Nipič, GFranc Košir, Marija Ahačič, Sonja Hočevar, Irena Svoišak, Stane Vidmar, Andreja Čamernik, Helena Blagne, Jožica Kališnik, Albin Rudan, Peter Care, Rudi Miložič, Jožica Širca Svete, jelka Cvetezar, Peter Ambrož and Marinka Grajzer.

Even though Vinko Ovsenik stopped playing the clarinet in 1959, he remained a crucial band member until the end, taking care not only of the arrangements but also finding the best text writers, with some of the being: Fery Souvan, Zvonko Čemažar, Elza Budau, Marjan Stare, Fran Milčinski, Ivan Sivec, etc...

Ansambel bratov Avsenik - Pastirček (1967) by Gregor Počivalšek on YouTube

Later years

After retiring from music, Slavko Avsenik has together with his wife started with a restaurant establishment Pri Joževcu in Begunje. As his wife acted as the bands manager for quite some time, her expertise was vital for them to also develop the Avsenik brand and legacy by way of a museum, a shop, a publishing house and a music school. Slavko Avsenik has also had a brief return to the stages as a solo accordionist in 1997 and after that for a time performed with the band Gašperji.

Until the end, he never stopped composing music. While during the nineties it was mostly played by other Slovenian bands, in his last couple of years he started focusing on his grandson's band, the Sašo Avsenik Ensemble. This band has also fast gotten notable international success. Of Slavko's offspring, one could also note Slavko Avsenik Jr, who was actively collaborating with Laibach during the eighties. His other son Gregor Avsenik is a guitar virtuoso and recently the head of the Avsenik Festival.

Until he retired in 1999, Vinko Ovsenik remained the artistic director at Helidon, a production and publishing house which was started on his initiative in the sixties and which was the main Slovenian publisher for the Avsenik Ensemble.

Awards and achievments

Besides having 29 gold, four platinum and one diamond record to their credit, they have countless other awards. For example and at one time or another, they won eight consecutive German television competitions, twelve times on the yearly German radio stations chart and eighteen times in the broadcasting emission Hit Parade mit Lustiger Musikanten at Radio Koln. They received the recording industry's European Music Oscar for the most original, quality and popular compositions from the European foundation of publishing houses and discography, the Golden Rose Award for the most requested ensemble on Austrian radio and, in 1979, the Linhart plaque in Slovenia and the "Hermann Löns" award from the German Minister of Culture. They have also been given the Golden Clog for being the most popular ensemble in the Netherlands and have been awarded the title of Polka Kings of the World in the USA.

In 1987, they were enlisted in the Guinness book of records as the most fruitful folk band in history. Nowadays, the song Na Golici/Trompeten-Echo is considered to be the most played instrumental tune in history. It has also been covered more than 600 times all over the world.

Slavko Avsenik was named as the honorary citizen of the Begunje Municipality and was honoured by George Voinovich, the governer of Cleveland. Together with his brother Vilko they were awarded The Silver Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia and were also put on stamps by the postal services in Slovenia.

Cultural impact

Even today, the Avsenik Ensemble is still one of the most influential and popular polka and waltz music groups in the world. Over forty years, the Avsenik Ensamble's original "Oberkrainer" sound bhas strongly influenced the folk music scene in Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries, spawning hundreds of Alpine orchestras in the process. In the USA, their style has profoundly informed the so called Cleveland-Style, as in 1958 Johnny Pecon's English lyrics transformed Slavko's "Tam kjer murke cveto" into a Greatest All-Time Cleveland-Style Hit, Little Fella. Since then, Cleveland-Style orchestras have recorded well over 200 Avsenik songs, which sort of makes sense also due to the fact that Cleveland holds the biggest Slovene diaspora in the world.

Their genre of music, accompanied by accordion, is popular at Slovene marriages, among older generations of Slovenes and also amongst expatriates and their descendants in the USA.

External links

Avsenik website
Slavko Avsenik on Wikipedia
Vilko Ovsenik on Wikipedia (in German)
Avsenik Ensemble yea-by-year biography
documentary about the Avsenik Ensemble on Servus TV (in German)

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 {{Teaser|
-The history of the [[Avsenik Ensemble]] goes back to [[established::1953]], when the accordion player [[Slavko Avsenik]] (1929&ndash;2015) formed his first trio and later regrouped into a quartet that also featured his elder brother [[Vilko Ovsenik]] (1928). Together they embarked on path on which they have &ndash; more or less single-handedly &ndash; created and developed a whole new music style, the so-called Oberkrainer music [''Narodno&ndash;zabavna glasba'', a term roughly translated as folk pop music]. With stellar success following rather soon, they fast popularised this genre worldwide and incessantly toured around Europe and North America up until 1990.
+The history of the [[Avsenik Ensemble]] goes back to [[established::1953]], when the accordion player [[Slavko Avsenik]] (1929&ndash;2015) formed his first trio and later regrouped into a quartet that also featured his elder brother [[Vilko Ovsenik]], who actuall. Together they embarked on path on which they have &ndash; more or less single-handedly &ndash; created and developed a whole new music style, the so-called Oberkrainer music [in Slovenian called ''narodno&ndash;zabavna glasba'', a term roughly translated as folk pop music]. With stellar success following rather soon, they fast popularised this genre worldwide and incessantly toured around Europe and North America up until 1989.
 }}
-The dynamic duo of the brothers Avsenik has recorded over 800 songs, with the self-taught Slavko being responsible for the tunes and Vilko, being an academic (jazz) musician, handling the arrangements, texts and notations. The latter is also responsible for the original instrumental idea of joining up an accordion, a trumpet, a baritone,  a clarinet and (since 1955) a guitar. This set up as such was their first innovation, merging a small brass orchestra with a traditional folk trio. With the added vocals, the sound of the Avsenik Ensemble was completed and, so to say, ready for take-off.
+The dynamic duo of the brothers Avsenik has recorded over 800 songs, with the self-taught Slavko responsible for the tunes and Vilko, being an academic (jazz) musician, handling the arrangements, texts and notations. The latter is also responsible for the original instrumental idea of joining up an accordion, a trumpet, a baritone, a clarinet and (since 1955) a guitar. This merging of a small brass orchestra with a traditional folk trio and the incorporation of respective musical styles was their primary innovation and the foundation this musical genre. However, with the added vocals, the sound of the Avsenik Ensemble was completed and, so to say, ready for take-off.
 {{YouTube|Eyh0Y6Eiv_I}}
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 ==History==
-The Avsenik brothers, born in Begunje in the Gorenjska Region of Northern Slovenia, started playing together as far back as in 1936. Then, a family quartet of the brothers and sisters Avsenik was established and played at the garden of their family inn (Vilko played the accordion and Slavko &ndash; only seven years old at that time &ndash; the button box). After the war, though they still occasionally played together, their  courses parted and while Vinko started studying music, Slavko went for sports and was a memebr of the national ski-jumping team. Vinko got a job at the Dance Orchestra of Radio Ljubljana and after an injury prevented Slavko from further pursuing his ski-jumping career, Vinko persuaded his brother and knitter-by-necessity to join an audition by Radio Ljubljana, which he passed and recorded his first few solo songs.
+The Avsenik brothers, born in Begunje in the Gorenjska region of Northern Slovenia, started playing together as far back as in 1936. Then, a family quartet of the brothers and sisters Avsenik was established and played at the garden of their family inn (with Vilko on the accordion and Slavko &ndash; only seven years old at that time &ndash; on the button box). After the war, though they still occasionally played together, their  courses parted and while Vilko started studying music, Slavko went for sports and was a memeber of the national ski-jumping team. Vilko got a job at the Dance Orchestra of Radio Ljubljana and after an injury prevented Slavko from further pursuing his ski-jumping career, Vinko suggested to his brother and knitter-by-necessity to join an audition by Radio Ljubljana. Slavko passed it and recorded his first few solo songs in 1953.
 ===The early years - From Slavko Avsenik's Trio to the Oberkrainer quintett (1953 - 1955)===
-Slavko's first band, an accordion-guitar-bass trio was short lived, as in that same year of 1953 the formed the ''Gorenjski kvartet'' with Vilko on clarinet, Slavko on accordion, [[Franc Kosir]] on a trumpet and [[Franc Ogrizek]] on a barytone. In 1955, with the addition of Lev Ponikvar on guitar, they became the ''Gorenjski kvintet'' or the or ''The Brother Avsenik's quintet''.
+Slavko's first band, an accordion-guitar-bass trio was short lived, as in that same year of 1953 he and Vilko formed the ''Gorenjski kvartet'' with Vilko on clarinet, Slavko on accordion, [[Franc Kosir]] on a trumpet and [[Franc Ogrizek]] on a baritone. In 1955, with the addition of Lev Ponikvar on guitar, they became the ''Gorenjski kvintet'' and sometimes also ''The Brothers Avsenik Quintet''.
-The band had a few live gigs in at the Carinthian Radio in 1954. There they %ndash; in that same year %ndash; recorded their first few songs, among them their biggest hit, the powerful polka song ''Na Golici'' (dubbed in German ''Trompeten-Echo''). Helmut Hartman, the editor at that radio, on his own accord translated the band's and presented them as the ''Oberkrainer quintett'' (Oberkrein being the Austrian name for the Gorenjska region). This name has stayed as their international name (much to the displeasure of the nationalist sentiment in Slovenia) and as the band became big rather soon, the term Oberkrainer started denoting this particular music style. Due to the many bands (from Germany to Serbia) soon starting to name themselves as The Oberkrainer this or that, the band changed their name to the Original Oberkrainer Quintet in 1959.
+The band had a few live gigs in at the Carinthian Radio in 1954, where they %ndash; in that same year %ndash; recorded their first few songs, among them their biggest hit, the powerful polka song ''Na Golici'' (dubbed in German ''Trompeten-Echo''). Helmut Hartman, the editor at that radio, on his own accord translated the band's name and presented them as the ''Oberkrainer quintett'' (Oberkrein being the Austrian name for the Gorenjska region). This name has stayed as their international name (much to the displeasure of the nationalist sentiment in Slovenia) and as the band became big rather soon, the term Oberkrainer actually started denoting this particular music style. Due to the many bands (ranging from Germany to Serbia) that started to call themselves The Oberkrainer this or that, the band changed their name to the Original Oberkrainer Quintet in 1959.
 {{YouTube|vwLdjv5Ml5M}}
-When on a vacation in Austria in 1955, editor of Bavarian radio in Munchen Fred Rauch heard the band, managed to get their tapes from Helmut at the Carinthian Radio and took them to Germany to play them on his radio. Soon after Avseniki record their first small album with four songs for the German publishing house Telefunken, with whom they stayed for the better part of their career, which the band getting very big very soon.
+When on a vacation in Austria in 1955, editor of Bavarian radio in Munchen Fred Rauch heard the band, managed to get their tapes from Helmut at the Carinthian Radio and took them to Germany to play them on his radio. Soon after, the quintet recorded their first small album with four songs for the German publishing house Telefunken, with whom they stayed for the better part of their career. The band started getting very big very soon.
 ===The golden decades of Slavko Avsenik and his Original Oberkrainers===
-In 1956, the band had their first tour in France and Slavko Avsenik, by himself, had performances with his accordion and German musicians in more then 60 different Bavarian towns. In 1957, the band, which occasionally included male and female vocals even back in the times of the quartet, was permanently enlarged with the singing duet of [[Franc Koren]] and [[Danica Filiplic]].
+In 1956, the band had their first tour in France and Slavko Avsenik, by himself, had performances with his accordion and German musicians in more then 60 different Bavarian towns. In 1957, the band, which occasionally included male and female vocals even back in the times of the quartet, was permanently enlarged with vocals, at that time the singing duet of [[Franc Koren]] and [[Danica Filiplic]].
 {{YouTube|V8mrWXvGTAE}}
-After that, things have sort of gotten out of hand and for the next few decades, the Avsenik Ensemble has &ndash; under one name or another and with a varying cast %ndash; toured with spectacular success around the whole of Europe (being popular especially in Germany), performed at the winter Olympic games in Innsbruck and appeared at various television emissions (one of them supposedly seen by more then 80 million viewers all over Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden). Especially in the first few decades, they've had somewhere between 150 and (supposedly) 300 performances per year and played before the crowds that could number up to 80,000.
+After that, things have sort of gotten out of hand and for the next few decades, the Avsenik Ensemble has %ndash; under one name or another and with a varying cast %ndash; toured with spectacular success around the whole of Europe (being popular especially in Germany) and also North America. Especially in the first few decades, they've had somewhere between 150 and 300 performances per year and played before the crowds that could number up to 80,000. They  performed at the winter Olympic games in Innsbruck and appeared on numerous television emissions worldwide (one of them was supposedly seen by more then 80 million viewers all over Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden).
-Their recording track is also prolific and is due not only to the demands from the label and the audiences but also to Slavko's seemingly unending flow of new tunes.  In 1964, the first golden record is achieved by the group as they've sold more than a million albums and when they've disbanded in 1990, 33 of their records are golden and all together they've sold more then 31 million records and tapes. In Slovenia, around half a million of their recordings was sold.
+Their recording track is also prolific and is due not only to the demands from the label and the audiences but also to Slavko's seemingly unending flow of new tunes. In 1964, having sold more than a million albums, their first golden record was achieved and when they've disbanded in 1989, 33 of their records were golden and all together they've sold more then 31 million records and tapes. In Slovenia, around half a million of their recordings were sold.
 ===Band members===
@@ Line 62: / Line 62: @@
 While the accordion was exclusively played by Slavko Avsenik, the other members were for various reasons fluctuating a bit more and included: on trumpet Franc Košir, Pavel Oman, Miro Saje, Jože Balažic; on clarinet Vilko Ovsenik, Franc Tržan, Albin Rudan, Alojz Zupan, Zoran Komač, Miha Gunzek, Vito Muzenič; on baritone Miško Hočevar, Borut Finžgar, Franc Ogrizek, Jože Kelbl, Mik Soss, Igor Podpečan, Vinko Štrucl, Ludvik Kos, Marjan legat and Slavko Avsenik Junior; on guitar Mitja Butara, Leo Ponikvar, renata Verlič, gregor Avsenik, Miha Ramšak, Hervin Jakončič; and on vocals Franc Koren, Danica Filiplič, Eva Prodnik, Alfi Nipič, GFranc Košir, Marija Ahačič, Sonja Hočevar, Irena Svoišak, Stane Vidmar, Andreja Čamernik, Helena Blagne, Jožica Kališnik, Albin Rudan, Peter Care, Rudi Miložič, Jožica Širca Svete, jelka Cvetezar, Peter Ambrož and Marinka Grajzer.
-Even though Vinko Ovsenik stopped playing the clarinet in 1959, he remained a crucial band member until the end, taking care not only of the arrangements but also finding the best text writers, with some of the being: Fery Souvan, Zvonko Čemažar, Elza Budau, Marjan Stare, Fran Milčinski, Ivan Sivec, etc...
+Even though Vinko Ovsenik stopped playing the clarinet in 1959, he remained a crucial band member until the end, taking care not only of the arrangements but also finding the best text writers, with some of the being: [[Fery Souvan]], [[Zvonko Čemažar]], [[Elza Budau]], [[Marjan Stare]], [[Fran Milčinski]], [[Ivan Sivec]], etc...
 {{YouTube|8kQ27z3s0bE}}
-==Awards==
+===Later years===
-Linhartovo plaketo, Združenje evropskih diskografskih hiš mu je za izvirnost, kakovost in priljubljenost skladb podelilo evropskega glasbenega oskarja. 1978 je prejel v Monaku osem zlatih plošč hkrati, na Nizozemskem pa najvišje glasbeno priznanje zlata cokla. 1979 je sledila na Dunaju podelitev zlate vrtnice, odličja za največkrat izvajano skupino na avstrijskih radijskih programih.
+After retiring from music, Slavko Avsenik has together with his wife started with a restaurant establishment ''Pri Joževcu'' in Begunje. As his wife acted as the bands manager for quite some time, her expertise was vital for them to also develop the Avsenik brand and legacy by way of a museum, a shop, a publishing house and a music school. Slavko Avsenik has also had a brief return to the stages as a solo accordionist in 1997 and after that for a time performed with the band [[Gašperji]].
-In the broadcasting emission Hit Parade mit Lustiger Musikanten at Radio Koln, they win eighteen times, at the television emission they win two times in a row.
+Until the end, he never stopped composing music. While during the nineties it was mostly played by other Slovenian bands, in his last couple of years he started focusing on his grandson's band, the [[Sašo Avsenik Ensemble]]. This band has also fast gotten notable international success. Of Slavko's offspring, one could also note [[Slavko Avsenik Jr]], who was actively collaborating with [[Laibach]] during the eighties. His other son [[Gregor Avsenik]] is a guitar virtuoso and recently the head of the [[Avsenik Festival]].
-They win twelve times on the German radio stations charts.
-times in the Hit Parade of German broadcasting emission Veseli muzikantje.
+Until he retired in 1999, Vinko Ovsenik remained the artistic director at [[Helidon]], a production and publishing house which was started on his initiative in the sixties and which was the main Slovenian publisher for the Avsenik Ensemble.
-hey are proclaimed as the most popular folk music band of German television. Slavko Avsenik receives the Linhart's diploma. In Berlin he receives the European Music Oscar for the most original, quality and popular compositions from the European foundation of publishing houses and discographyAt Vienna he receives the prize "Zlata vrtnica" (Golden Rose), that is the prize for the most common and popular band heard at the Austrian radio programme.
+==Awards and achievments==
+Besides having 29 gold, four platinum and one diamond record to their credit, they have countless other awards. For example and at one time or another, they won eight consecutive German television competitions, twelve times on the yearly German radio stations chart and eighteen times in the broadcasting emission ''Hit Parade mit Lustiger Musikanten'' at Radio Koln. They received the recording industry's ''European Music Oscar'' for the most original, quality and popular compositions from the European foundation of publishing houses and discography, the ''Golden Rose Award'' for the most requested ensemble on Austrian radio and, in 1979, the ''Linhart plaque'' in Slovenia and the "Hermann Löns" award from the German Minister of Culture. They have also been given the ''Golden Clog'' for being the most popular ensemble in the Netherlands and have been awarded the title of Polka Kings of the World in the USA.
+In 1987, they were enlisted in the Guinness book of records as the most fruitful folk band in history. Nowadays, the song Na Golici/Trompeten-Echo is considered to be the most played instrumental tune in history. It has also been covered more than 600 times all over the world.
+Slavko Avsenik was named as the honorary citizen of the Begunje Municipality and was honoured by George Voinovich, the governer of Cleveland. Together with his brother Vilko they were awarded The Silver Order of Freedom of the Republic of Slovenia and were also put on stamps by the postal services in Slovenia.
 ==Cultural impact==
-As early as in the 1950s, but today they are still one of the most influential and popular polka and waltz music groups in the world.
+Even today, the Avsenik Ensemble is still one of the most influential and popular polka and waltz music groups in the world. Over forty years, the Avsenik Ensamble's original "Oberkrainer" sound bhas strongly influenced the folk music scene in Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries, spawning hundreds of Alpine orchestras in the process. In the USA, their style has profoundly informed the so called Cleveland-Style, as in 1958 Johnny Pecon's English lyrics transformed Slavko's "Tam kjer murke cveto" into a ''Greatest All-Time Cleveland-Style Hit'', Little Fella. Since then, Cleveland-Style orchestras have recorded well over 200 Avsenik songs, which sort of makes sense also due to the fact that Cleveland holds the biggest Slovene diaspora in the world.
-The Avsenik brothers have received numerous folk music awards in Slovenia and Austria and have been awarded the title of Polka Kings of the World in the USA. They have 31 gold, one platinum and one diamond record to their credit, plus the German record award. The sales figures and a worldwide public response to their work are huge and the [[Avsenik Ensemble]] has strongly influenced the folk music scene in Slovenia, Austria and Germany. Their genre of music, accompanied by accordion, is popular at Slovene marriages, among older generations of Slovenes and also amongst expatriates and their descendants in the USA.
-His career accomplishments place him at the worldwide pinnacle of success among ethnic popular musicians.
+Their genre of music, accompanied by accordion, is popular at Slovene marriages, among older generations of Slovenes and also amongst expatriates and their descendants in the USA.
-Over forty years, the Avsenik Ensamble's original "Oberkrainer" sound became the primary vehicle of ethnic musical expression for Slovenia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Benelux countries, spawning hundreds of Alpine orchestras in the process of the Cleveland-Style legacy. Slovenia's most popular orchestra, the group has won countless awards.
-Growing in popularity, they soon began appearing in broadcasts, movies, and concerts in West Germany.
-Landing a recording contract with Telefunken-Decca in 1960 eight consecutive television competitions, twelve from German network television, eighteen as Germany's most popular band, the recording industry's "European Oscar" in 1975, the Golden Rose Award (most requested on Austrian radio) in 1979, the Linhart plaque (Slovenia), and the "Hermann Löns" award from the German Minister of Culture.
-Avsenik's influence over Cleveland-Style music began in 1958 when Johnny Pecon's English lyrics transformed Slavko's "Tam kjer murke cveto" into a Greatest All-Time Cleveland-Style Hit, Little Fella. Since then, Cleveland-Style orchestras have recorded well over 200 Avsenik songs
 ==See also==