Who is contemporary classical quintet ZRI?

Not the start of a joke – at least not one we know – but it is the inadvertent catalyst to the future formation of ZRI, a contemporary ensemble whose performances blur composers from the classical canon with traditional European folk music.

So, how did a composer popping out for a stein or two in 1800s Austria, lead to the formation of a 21st century quintet? Here’s a little bit more about this unconventional ensemble who joined us for two performances in December 2025, and how they came to life.

They’re named after a pub

Let’s start with the name, not least because it’s fundamental to what ZRI are all about. ZRI stands for Zum Roten Igel, which translates as The Red Hedgehog. Opened in Vienna in the 19th century, The Red Hedgehog was one of the city’s first public concert venues, and also home to a cellar tavern, that soon became a popular haunt for musicians. 

So, are ZRI hundreds of years old?

No, this quintet is very much a product of this century. Initially formed around 2011 under the direction of clarinettist Ben Harlan, ZRI is made up of musicians who have, in various guises, known each other over a number of years, some stretching back to childhood. Alongside Harlan the collective comprises accordionist Jon Banks, cellist Matthew Sharp, violinist Max Baille and santouri player Iris Pissaride.

How did they begin?

With Brahms. According to Banks, ZRI’s origins lie in the group The Burning Bush of which he and Harlan were both members. The group played a lot of Jewish folk music, and hit upon the idea of playing Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet with a klezmer band. As Banks explained in an interview with Interlude, Harlan’s view was that when he played the piece with a string quartet ‘he was constantly pitted against the quartet – it was him versus them, in a way. Our aim was to integrate the whole thing a bit more… Brahms himself was very into gypsy music. There are gypsy bits in the Quintet [and] we’d played a lot of klezmer music before, so we knew the sound world well’.

So, what’s the link to the pub?

When Brahms moved to Vienna in the 1860s he became a regular at The Red Hedgehog Tavern, so much of a regular that it’s suggested that he ate lunch there every day. Though he may have come for the goulash, Brahms would’ve undoubtedly stayed for the music, with bands regularly performing for the tavern’s patrons well into the night. As the beer and wine flowed, The Red Hedgehog became a melting pot, as the folk musicians of the tavern’s stage crossed paths with composers at its tables. As well as Brahms, the tavern was frequented by Mendelssohn and Richard Schuman, not to mention Schubert, who at one point lived next door.

It’s this spirit of the tavern that ZRI have embraced

This blend of musical styles and traditions has formed the backbone of what ZRI are all about, as Banks explained to Interlude back in the groups’ early days, ‘our idea is to take Brahms’s music and intersperse it with some of the music he would have heard.’ And what began with Brahms has since expanded out to the music of the other composers who frequented the tavern, to produce programmes where a Hungarian folk tune or Czardas dance may give way to some sublime Schubert or rip-roaring Dvořák.

And they bring it all together in their Cellar Sessions

As well as performing programmes dedicated to Brahms and Schubert, ZRI continue to keep the spirit of the tavern alive through their vibrant Cellar Sessions. Though the original Red Hedgehog may have been demolished in 1906, its music legacy lives through ZRI’s fiery selection of classical and Gypsy favourites, performed as they might have been heard at the eponymous Red Hedgehog Tavern, albeit with a few contemporary twists along the way.