Through his work as conductor, violinist and broadcaster, Andrew Manze has become known for the energy and insight he brings to a remarkable range of music.
As a conductor he has a particularly wide range of expertise from the baroque through classical and increasingly nineteenth and twentieth century repertoire. As a violinist he specialises in music from 1610 to 1830. He also teaches, edits and writes about music, as well as broadcasting regularly on radio and television.
After reading Classics at Cambridge University, Manze studied the violin with Simon Standage and Marie Leonhardt. He was Associate Director of The Academy of Ancient Music from 1996 to 2003, and Artistic Director of The English Concert from 2003 to 2007, succeeding the founder Trevor Pinnock in this role. From the 06-07 season he has been Principal Conductor of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Sweden and also holds the title of Artist in Residence with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.
As a guest conductor Manze is in rapidly growing demand throughout Europe and the USA. He has regular relationships with a number of leading orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra and NDR Hannover. In 2006/7 he made his debut with Frankfurt Radio Symphony and the Northern Sinfonia and in 2007/8 Manze will conduct the City of Birmingham Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Munich Philharmonic for the first time.
Andrew Manze records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi USA and has released an astonishing variety of CDs. His latest release is of Handel Arias & Scenes for Tenor with Mark Padmore and The English Concert. His recent recording of Mozart Violin Concerti Nos. 3-5 with The English Concert was voted Disc of the Week by BBC Radio 3's CD Review, Disc of the Month by Classic FM Magazine and Orchestral Choice by BBC Music Magazine. Other recordings with The English Concert include Mozart's Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, concerti from Vivaldi`s little-known Viennese La cetra and a recently unearthed Biber mass. These are in addition to the string of award-winning discs Manze made with the Academy of Ancient Music.
His long standing collaboration with Richard Egarr has won great acclaim. Their recordings have won the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Gramophone Award and a 2003 Grammy nomination, and include sonatas by Bach, Handel and Biber. Manze and Egarr's most recent recording, Mozart's 1781 Violin Sonatas, has been similarly well received. Gramophone praised "a manner of performance that is at once vigorous and laid back, unforced but forthright. Notable characteristics include seemingly effortless fiddle-playing style...an ingredient that Manze and Egarr display in abundance is imagination."
Manze is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music and a Visiting Professor at the Royal College of Music, London and has contributed to new editions of sonatas and concertos by Mozart and Bach published by Bärenreiter and Breitkopf and Härtel.
Andrew Manze is represented by Intermusica.
June 2007/475 words. Not to be altered without permission. Please destroy all previous biographical material.