Nils Mönkemeyer, viola
Whether original baroque literature, quirky rarities or innovative world premieres, the German violist and multiple Echo Klassik prizewinner always elicits new facets from his instrument. The professor at the Munich University of Music and Theatre exudes a creative spirit of discovery as a soloist and chamber musician from London to Tokyo.
About the artist
musical bridge builder
Artistic brilliance and innovative programming are the trademarks that have earned Nils Mönkemeyer a reputation as one of the world’s most successful violists, dramatically raising the profile of his instrument.
His programmes run the gamut from rediscoveries and first recordings of original 18th-century viola literature to contemporary repertoire and arrangements of his own. This is also reflected on his CD recordings with Sony Classical, which have repeatedly won awards and been celebrated by the international press. The most recent example, Nils Mönkemeyer’s album “Dance for Two”, released in spring 2023, with recorder player Dorothee Oberlinger brings together works from over a thousand years of music history, mostly in their own arrangements for this special instrumentation.
Colaborations
Nils Mönkemeyer works together with conductors such as Andrej Boreyko, Sylvain Cambreling, Constantinos Carydis, Nicholas Collon, Reinhard Goebel, Elias Grandy, Pietari Inkinen, Vladimir Jurowski, Joana Mallwitz, Andrew Manze, Cornelius Meister, Mark Minkowski, Kent Nagano, Markus Poschner, Kristiina Poska, Michael Sanderling, Clemens Schuldt, Markus Stenz, Mario Venzago or Simone Young, performing as a soloist with orchestras including Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Berne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della svizzera italiana, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester and Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic, Hamburg Philharmonic, Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, SWR Symphony Orchestra, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Munich Chamber Orchestra or Berliner Barock Solisten.
On Stage
Season 2023/24 will again bring Nils Mönkemeyer to major international venues such as Wigmore Hall London, Musikverein Vienna, Royal Library Copenhagen, LAC Lugano, NFM Wroclaw, Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Prinzregententheater Munich and Alte Oper Frankfurt, as well as to festivals such as Schubertiade, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Kissinger Sommer, Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele and Mozartfest Würzburg. As a soloist, Nils Mönkemeyer will perform, among others, with Staatsorchester Hamburg under the baton of Kent Nagano, where he will premiere Vladimir Tarnopolski’s “Im Dunkel vor der Dämmerung” together with Andreas Ottensamer and Edicson Ruiz, as well as with NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Jena Philharmonic and – together with Alina Ibragimova – Kammerorchester Basel. Special chamber music projects of the season 2023/24 include trio concerts with Sabine Meyer and William Youn, the project “Viola Latina!” with Rubén Dubrovsky and Bach Consort Vienna, as well as a tour with the Julia Fischer Quartet to London, Zurich, Madrid, Prague, Berlin, and Munich, among others.
Passion
Furthermore, he is pursuing a heartfelt wish as a musician to build bridges with music by making it accessible to disadvantaged people. To this end, Nils Mönkemeyer founded the chamber music festival “Klassik für Alle” in 2016, in collaboration with the charity Caritas Bonn.
Teaching
Mönkemeyer has been a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich since 2011.
Instrument
Nils Mönkemeyer plays a viola made by Philipp Augustin.
