Paula Mengel
Born in:
Uelzen
Current center of life:
Leipzig
My career aspiration as a child:
Archaeologist
This is the profession my parents envisioned for me:
No specific profession was suggested to me, but it was always important to my parents that I do something professionally that fulfills me.
Works or concert experiences that shaped me:
I studied in London for half a year and the cultural offer there was overwhelming for me, as I had lived in rather smaller cities before. There I heard many inspiring concerts at the Wigmore Hall, the Barbican Centre and the Royal Albert Hall, saw operas and ballets at the Royal Opera House and looked at the works of art in museums like the National Gallery or the Tate Modern.
Work with the greatest music-making pleasure (and why?):
That changes constantly for me. Currently, I would say it’s the last Brahms string quartet.
I would like a work for my instrument by this composer (and why?):
I don’t even know where to start! It would be nice to have one (or more) classical concertos by Haydn or Mozart, I would also find a Beethoven viola sonata exciting and I wouldn’t mind a Schumann or Brahms viola concerto either.
I would get up in the middle of the night for that:
Cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven
That's what I wish for the future of the classical music scene:
To reach more people who (still) have no idea about this whole wonderful world of classical music.
My next project:
Planting my balcony.
That's what I associate with Leipzig as a city of music:
Traditional music institutions such as the Gewandhaus and the Thomaner.