As one of the leading British clarinettists and most striking musicians, Matthew Hunt is known for the outstanding sound of his playing and for his ability to communicate with his audiences.

As soloist, Matthew has recently performed with conductors such as Trevor Pinnock, Clemens Schulte, Pekka Kuusisto, as well as with orchestras such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra Collective, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, the Estonian festival Orchestra and as guest performer with the Berlin Philharmonic in the Berlin Kammermusik Saal. He is a passionate chamber musician and his partners to date include Meta4-, Chiarascuro-, Pavel Haas, the Elias Quartet as well as Pekka Kuusisto, Alina Ibragimova, Thomas Adès, Nicholas Altstaedt, Steven Isserlis, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alexander Lanquich and the jazz pianist Iiro Rantala. Matthew Hunt is also principal clarinet with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.

For the coming season, festival performances are planned in Norway, Switzerland, Belgium and America, plus further performances of Max Bruch’s concerto with Maté Szücs in the Berlin Philharmonie, as well as joint appearances with the much praised chamber ensemble ›Orsino‹.

Matthew Hunt’s recording of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, which has been greatly praised by the critics, has been hailed by BBC Music Magazine as a »seminal recording of this frequently recorded work«.

The Estonian conductor and Grammy Award winner Paavo Järvi has served as Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since 2004. One of the many highlights of this long standing collaboration was the widely acclaimed Beethoven cycle, whose performances were celebrated by critics around the world and honoured with numerous awards, including the Echo Klassik for “Conductor of the Year.” The Beethoven project was followed by an intensive exploration of the symphonic works of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms; both cycles likewise received multiple distinctions. Since autumn 2021, the orchestra has turned its focus to Joseph Haydn’s twelve London Symphonies, followed in 2024 by an in depth engagement with the symphonies of Franz Schubert.

Since the 2019/20 season, Paavo Järvi has also served as Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. Starting with the 2028/29 season, Järvi will assume the position of Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Estonian Festival Orchestra and the Pärnu Music Festival, which he established in 2011. As a guest conductor, he regularly appears with leading orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, Paavo Järvi was named Artist of the Year by both Gramophone magazine (UK) and Diapason (France). This was followed in 2019 by the Opus Klassik award for Conductor of the Year. Further honours include a Grammy Award for his recording of Sibelius’ Cantatas with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the title Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture. In recognition of his commitment to promoting the music of Jean Sibelius, he received the Sibelius Medal in 2015, and in 2012 he was awarded the Hindemith Prize for Art and Humanity. For his dedication to Estonian culture, Paavo Järvi was awarded the Order of the White Star by the President of Estonia in 2013, and in 2024 he received the Bremen Senate Medal for Art and Science.

Artistic brilliance and innovative programming – these are the trademarks with which Nils Mönkemeyer has made the viola the subject of considerable attention, thereby also establishing himself as one of the most outstanding viola players of our time.

His programmes span the range from original discoveries and first ever recordings of 18th century viola literature, through to contemporary works and his own arrangements. In his international appearances, Mönkemeyer has worked with well-known conductors including Sylvain Cambreling, Joana Mallwitz, Kent Nagano and Markus Poschner, as well as having appeared as soloist with top-class orchestras such as the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Münchener Kammerorchester. During the 2021/22 season, concert tours will take him to London, Vienna and to the Schubertiad festival.

This extraordinary musician also follows his heart; founded together with Caritas Bonn, the chamber music festival ›Klassik für Alle‹ makes music accessible to everyone. In addition, this sought-after viola player has been a professor at Munich’s College of Music and Drama – where he himself was a student with Hariolf Schlichtig – since 2011.

As an exclusive Sony Classical artist, he has released numerous award-winning albums. After his celebrated debut in 2019, Nils Mönkemeyer is now returning to the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.