Madsen’s Horn Quintet meets a Berlin family audience
Ozan Çakar, the DSO chamber ensemble and presenter Christian Schruff at Das Horn und seine Freunde in Berlin. Photo: Oliver Ziebe / rbb. Source.
A horn, four string players and a presenter shared the stage for Das Horn und seine Freunde in Berlin. Madsen’s Horn Quintet was part of that family concert in June 2025; radio3 returned to the recording for its Klassik für Kinder broadcast on 1 May 2026.
The concert took place on 29 June 2025 in the Großer Sendesaal at rbb’s broadcasting house. Its title, “The Horn and Its Friends”, described the ensemble gathered around horn player Ozan Çakar. Christian Schruff presented a programme pairing Madsen’s quintet with Mozart’s Horn Quintet in E-flat major, K. 407. [1] [2]
Çakar’s colleagues from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin were Kamila Glass on violin, Henry Pieper and Kim Esther Roloff on viola, and Leslie Riva-Ruppert on cello. With two violas among the four string instruments, the five musicians formed the ensemble named in the DSO’s concert listing. [2]
This was radio3’s 111th children’s concert, advertised for a Sunday morning at 10:30. Music and spoken introductions were brought together for young listeners, with the horn and its string-playing partners as the focus. Madsen’s quintet entered the programme within that familiar family-concert format. [3]
The DSO describes the series as intended for children aged six to twelve, with six programmes each season. The surrounding activities extend into the foyer, where families can encounter instruments, sing and take part in crafts. The concert listing placed the chamber music alongside these opportunities to join in. [2]
The concert then had a further life on radio. The archive entry for the 8 a.m. broadcast on 1 May 2026 identifies the June event as its source, with Schruff again named as presenter. A photograph accompanying the listing shows the musicians with him and credits photographer Oliver Ziebe. [1]
The DSO also links the concert to a transmission on 31 August 2025. The May 2026 listing therefore records a later airing of the same concert material, carrying the programme beyond the audience who attended the original Sunday morning event. [1] [2]
Listeners can also find the Horn Quintet on the commercial album Works for Horn, released by Genuin in 2012. That recording credits Christoph Eß and the Zemlinsky Quartet. Its three movements are listed as Allegro moderato, Andante and Allegro, and are presented as individual tracks on streaming services. [4]
Genuin’s introduction to that earlier recording describes Madsen’s music as “humoristic, imaginative and innovative”, and presents his works for horn as a rich resource for Eß. This is the label’s own appreciation of the composer’s music, accompanying an album devoted entirely to him and including the quintet heard in the Berlin programme. [5]
For anyone continuing from the Berlin programme, that album offers more Madsen to explore. Released as Eß’s debut for Genuin, it also contains the Horn Sonata, Horn Trio and Horn Concerto, with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and Sebastian Tewinkel among the performers. Its quintet recording provides a separate listening companion to the radio concert. [5]
Listen and watch
Listening links below feature Christoph Eß and the Zemlinsky Quartet’s separate 2012 recording.