Avsenik Brothers Ensemble () () were a Slovene

Oberkrainer Upper Carniola ( ; ; ) is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The largest town in the region is Kranj, and other urban centers include Kamnik, Jesenice, Domžale and Škofja Loka. It ha ...

music band formed by the brothers

Slavko Avsenik Slavko Avsenik (November 26, 1929 – July 2, 2015) was a Slovenia, Slovene composer and musician. Beginning in 1953 with the formation of the Avsenik Brothers Ensemble, Avsenik produced more than 1,000 songs and garnered success both in Slovenia ...

and Vilko Avsenik in 1953 in

Begunje na Gorenjskem Begunje na Gorenjskem (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, p. 146.) is a village in the Municipality of Radovljica in the Upper Carniola ...

. The music for their repertoire of about 1000 songs was all written by Slavko and arranged by Vilko, an academic

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. Lyrics for their songs were written by Marjan Stare, Ferry Souvan, Ivan Sivec, Franc Košir, Tone Fornezzi, Vinko Šimek and others. The band changed the name several times. They started as a

trio Trio may refer to: Music Groups * Trio (music), an ensemble of three performers, or a composition for such an ensemble ** Jazz trio, pianist, double bassist, drummer ** Minuet and trio, a form in classical music ** String trio, a group of three ...

, then formed a

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

and finally formed a

quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

with two or three singers. They were and remain particularly popular in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and the Slovene diaspora over the world. The band invented the Oberkrainer music, a new music genre of

volksmusik Alpine folk music (; German's ''Volksmusik'' means "people's music" or as a Germanic connotative translation, "folk's music") is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional folk music in the Alpine regions of S ...

and sold over 32 million records, which makes them the best selling Slovene music artists ever. They performed over 10,000 concerts all over the world, three times in the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

. Their biggest hit '' Na Golici (Trompetenecho)'', written by Slavko Avsenik and released in 1955, is according to some the most played instrumental piece of music in history. The band disbanded in 1990 due to Slavko's problems with his

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

Discography

Singles

References

External links

official page
at avsenik.com {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1953 Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Folk music groups Slovenian musical groups Jugoton artists