Nils Mönkemeyer or The Versatile Viola
Enthusiasm. The Ancient Greeks used the term to describe the spirited state in which a person is carried and compelled by their abilities, visions and an insatiable need to pass on the desire for insight, and the insight into desire. Nils Mönkemeyer has plenty of it. He eats, sleeps and breathes enthusiasm.
The Repertoire
His repertoire? The lot. From the 18th century to the 21st, from original literature to his own arrangements, from the transparent, rhetorical style of the Baroque to the exorbitant technical challenges of contemporary composers. In recent years, he has commissioned an increasing number of works himself. The critics repeatedly praise the artistic brilliance of what he plays and how he plays it. His programming is exciting and innovative, combining old and new, or threading a common theme throughout.
The Full-blooded Musician
Nils Mönkemeyer fell in love early with the earthy, androgynous, versatile tone of the viola, and so intensely that he has become one of the most sought-after and influential advocates of this long neglected instrument. Concerts around the world? Hundreds. New forms of presentation through television and talk shows? Of course. Sharing knowledge? No question about it: in masterclasses, and as professor at the Musikhochschule in Munich, where he himself once studied. He strives to imbue his own enthusiasm in others. Nils Mönkemeyer has an equally strong presence as a soloist and chamber musician, bringing out one award-winning album after another. That is a lot in itself, yet the most astonishing thing of all is his immense vitality and naturalness, ever increasing with experience. He cannot be pigeon-holed, for he combines seriousness and humour, his restless creativity always driving him yet further.
