Ariart Woodwind Quintet
History
Ariart Woodwind Quintet was established in 1996. The Quintet's members are well-known Slovene musicians: flautist Matej Zupan, oboist Maja Kojc, clarinettist Jože Kotar, hornist Andrej Žust and bassoonist Milan Nikolić. The name Ariart was chosen by the ensemble because it is a composite form of two Italian words aria (air and song), and arte (art, craft).
Repertoire and performances
The ensemble of five young wind instrumentalists has attracted the attention of both classical music lovers as well as contemporary music fans with performances in Slovenia and in countries such as Italy, Denmark, Spain and neighbouring Austria. The Quintet hosts a yearly concert cycle Serenade at the Slovene Philharmonic which features performances by the Quintet and international guest ensembles such as the Croatian chamber ensemble Rucner and the bass player Zoran Marković. The quintet collaborates with other wind and string ensembles performing a wider variety of chamber works written for both wind and string ensembles.
It also collaborates with Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI), Slovenia presenting national works to a younger audience. Its repertoire includes works by 20th century Slovene composers such as Uroš Krek, Primož Ramovš and Slavko Osterc, contemporary works composed especially for Ariart, as well as arrangements of classical music pieces for flute (piccolo), oboe (English horn), clarinet (bass and E-flat), bassoon and French horn.
Recordings
The Quintet's discography features 3 CDs. The recordings feature the Quintet's performances of original and arranged works by international composers such as Paul Hindemith, Joseph Haydn, Jacques Ibert, Malcolm Arnold, Astor Piazzolla and Slovene composers such as Alojz Srebotbjak and Primož Ramovš.