Alliage is a ensemble of four saxophones and a piano, awarded with two ECHO Klassik awards. Its founder is the Canadian Daniel Gauthier, soprano sax. He received the first chair of classical saxophone in Germany in 1997 and has taught at the Cologne University of Music since 2003. Some of the best classical sax soloists currently perform with him: Hayrapet Arakelyan, alto sax, Simon Hanrath, tenor sax, and Sebastian Pottmeier, baritone sax. Korean pianist Jang Eun Bae completes the quintet formation.
The repertoire focuses on famous masterpieces from all ages in compositions for piano and saxophone quartet. All arrangements are tailor-made for the Alliage Quintet and created in close cooperation between the ensemble and the respective composer: for example, the Japanese Jun Nagao or the Dutch Wijnand van Klaveren, as well as arrangements such as Reiner Schottstädt and Hendrik Schnöke.
The Alliage Quintett performs in major concert halls in Europe, Asia and North America, as well as festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival and the Lucerne Festival. In addition to numerous radio and television recordings, including at the ARTE Lounge, the musicians have now released a total of five CDs with works by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Mozart, Rossini and Puccini specially arranged for them. The Alliage Quintet made their SONY CLASSICAL debut in 2008 with a recomposition of Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and some arrangements by Johann Sebastian Bach under the title “Masquerade”. The associated concert tour took the ensemble to the Liederhalle (Stuttgart), the Laeiszhalle (Hamburg), the Glocke (Bremen) and the Essen Philharmonic.