Over the last few years Andrew Manze has established a reputation as one of the most stimulating and energetic conductors of his generation. He draws upon a particularly wide range of expertise ranging from the baroque through classical, nineteenth- and twentieth-century repertoire and his unique skills as a communicator make him a favourite with both audiences and orchestras.
Since the 06-07 season Manze has been Principal Conductor of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Sweden. In Spring 2008 they made a very successful 12-concert tour of the USA with a programme which Manze had specially devised entitled “The Eroica Effect”. This was linked to the release of their highly praised recording of Beethoven’s “Eroica” for Harmonia Mundi. Manze also holds the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
As a guest conductor Manze is in great demand throughout Europe and North America. He has regular relationships with a number of leading orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Scottish and Swedish Chamber Orchestras and the Radio Philharmonie Hannover des NDR. In 2007/8 Manze made his debut with both the City of Birmingham Symphony and Munich Philharmonic and was immediately re-engaged by both orchestras.
In the 2008/9 season Manze will make his debut with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and also the Ensemble ACJW in Carnegie Hall in New York.. In Spring 09 he will conduct the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in two concerts in the Berlin Philharmonie celebrating the Mendelssohn anniversary, and he will also conduct Fidelio in concert performances with Nina Stemme and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. Future engagements include a return to the Munich Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra and debuts with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
After reading Classics at Cambridge University, Manze studied the violin and rapidly became a leading specialist in the world of historical performance practice. He became Associate Director of The Academy of Ancient Music in 1996 and then Artistic Director of The English Concert from 2003 to 2007.
Manze has released an astonishing variety of CDs, many of them award-winning. They include Mozart Violin Concertos, Handel Arias with Mark Padmore, Mozart’s Eine kleine Nacht Musik, Vivaldi`s little-known Viennese La cetra and a recently unearthed Biber mass, as well as concertos by Bach, Handel and Geminiani. Manze’s long-standing collaboration with his duo partner Richard Egarr won great acclaim with their recordings of sonatas by Bach, Handel, Pandolfi, Rebel, Biber, Mozart and Schubert. These discs have won many prizes, amongst them two Gramophone Awards, three Edisons, the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, a BBC Music Magazine Award and a 2003 Grammy nomination. Future recording plans include the Stenhammar concertos on Hyperion.
Manze is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and a Visiting Professor at the Oslo Academy and has contributed to new editions of sonatas and concertos by Mozart and Bach published by Bärenreiter and Breitkopf and Härtel. He also teaches, edits and writes about music, as well as broadcasting regularly on radio and television.
Andrew Manze is represented by Intermusica.
September 2008 /517 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.