Mathis Nitschke

SWS Award winner

Mathis Nitschke is an artist who works between disciplines. He combines his studies of classical guitar, visual arts and musical composition with theatre and opera, as well as for some years also coding. In collaboration with artists from various disciplines, Nitschke tries to give contemporary music theatre a new face.

Many of Nitschke’s artistic works reflect on the processes of creating and listening to music. In his musical compositions and productions he often starts with improvised or semi-improvised performances by flesh and blood musicians to capture not only their sounds but also their personality. When it comes to further processing, he likes to proceed experimentally and is a pioneer in new technologies.

Integrating smartphones and headphones as an integral part of todays public life, Nitschke created an interactive audio tour for promenaders at the Munich river Isar: VERGEHEN (“Passing”, 2017), an opera which one has to walk. It lets the real world interact sonically with the virtual world. In the “Deutsche Bühne” yearbook of 2017, VERGEHEN was nominated in the best stage/space/costume categorie.

In his collaborations with institutions like the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra or ECM Records he explores the exciting border area to art mediation: He interprets the act of music listening artistically.

In 2015, Mathis Nitschke founded Sofilab, a Munich-based sonic design studio and innovation lab working at the crossroads of art, industry and technology.