Phren

Phren is an experimental music ensemble from Munich, founded and directed by cellist Michael Kopfermann and active for decades with changing line-ups. Its members compose collectively on prepared string and wind instruments, in formations from duo to sextet, through a method Kopfermann called experimental improvisation, which tries to bring together ideas from John Cage and Arnold Schoenberg. Kopfermann studied with Rudolf Kolisch in the United States, and his work with thick gut strings on the cello led to the group's interest in noise built into the single tone.