Think outside the box

The Austrian cellist and conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt was a crucial figure in the early music movement, enabling entirely new perspectives on the music of the 17th and 18th centuries by performing it on historical instruments and according to the stylistic principles of the time of its creation. Besides his practical work, Harnoncourt also wrote books, one of which is titled «Musik als Klangrede» (Music as Speech of Sound). Published in 1983, the book still has an impact today.

«The joint reading of this book was a cornerstone of our musical development, both for us individually and for our ensemble.» This says Miguel Fernández, who is not a member of a string quartet, but of a saxophone trio! This is surprising at first glance. The surprise disappears when you know that María, Álvaro, and Miguel – all natives of Spain – formed their A-Delta Trio at the Musik-Akademie Basel, a university renowned for its first-class chamber music instruction. Instruction that challenges aspiring artists to think outside the box.

Defining Encounters

«We had our first lessons as a trio in Basel with Sergio Azzolini.» The bassoonist and Baroque specialist worked with them on their shared breathing and resonance, says Fernández, who plays the baritone saxophone in the trio. This instruction with Azzolini also led them to their name. They were rehearsing a trio by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, which featured long, flowing harmony sequences, and they imagined «the smooth, gliding movement of a delta wing in flight» – in Spanish: «Ala delta», which became the name «A-Delta Trio».

The image has remained, and the name became an omen: The ensemble has experienced a musical soaring flight ever since. The A-Delta Trio recently won the Orpheus Swiss Chamber Music Competition, which brings important engagements in Switzerland and the opportunity to commission a new work. The latter is particularly valuable, as the repertoire for saxophone trio is very limited, says Fernández. Their goal is to help expand the repertoire. Major premieres are coming up soon, such as a work by the renowned French composer Benjamin Attahir. And for their debut at Musikdorf Ernen, the work «Funken» (Sparks) will be performed, written for the A-Delta Trio by the young Spanish composer Guiomar Ortiz (b. 1999).

Expanding the Repertoire

In the Musikdorf, the saxophone trio demonstrates that it also thinks outside the box when it comes to programmes: The ensemble has adapted many pieces for its own instrumentation, such as the string trio by the legendary Hungarian chamber music teacher Leó Weiner (1885–1960). This fits wonderfully, as Fernández says: «The lessons with pianists were a radical turning point for us. They proposed ideas without considering the limitations of the saxophone, which forced us to seek new approaches and find unconventional solutions.» This purely musical instruction – also with Leila Schayegh and Anna Gebert, who introduced them to the world of string instruments – greatly shaped their interpretations, says Fernández.

Tradition and Innovation

Many of the Newcomers who come to Ernen have passed through the chamber music incubator in Basel, thus guaranteeing the consistently high level of the festival summer's conclusion in September. For the first time, the intensive music weekend already begins on Thursday evening with the Helix Trio, which is allowed to return after its debut in autumn 2023 – including a 10-day ensemble residency.

All concert programmes show that the Newcomers think outside the box: The Trio E. T. A. performs a work by Isabel Mundry alongside Haydn and Schubert; the up-and-coming violinist from Sion, Achille Vocat, bringts two works by Mel Bonis to Ernen; the young pianist Manoush Toth presents a rarely heard work by Francis Poulenc; and for the conclusion, the Trio Basilea returns to Ernen and plays, among others, the fascinating piece «Renouée des oiseaux» by Claire-Mélanie Sinnhuber, Composer in Residence 2025/26.

Newcomers | 5 and 10–13 September 2026
5 chamber concerts, a piano recital and an extra concert

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Written in December 2025, by Jonathan Inniger