Andrew Manze

Principal Conductor of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra since 2006, Andrew Manze has become known for the energy and insight he brings to a remarkable range of music. As a conductor, he is in demand with orchestras around the world in baroque, classical and increasingly nineteenth and twentieth century repertoire. As a violinist he specializes 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 until 2006. He is also Artist-in-residence at the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

As a guest conductor, Manze regularly directs symphonic repertoire and large scale oratorios throughout Europe and the USA. He has regular relationships with a number of leading orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic. Forthcoming engagements include debuts with Munich Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Northern Sinfonia.

In his role with The English Concert, Manze has explored classical repertoire, including Mozart’s violin concertos, orchestral works and re-orchestrations of Handel’s oratorios, while continuing to perform baroque works. Recent highlights have included a tour of the Far East, concerts across the USA and appearances at major European festivals including Bath, Cheltenham, Utrecht, La Chaise Dieu, Prague and Flanders.

Andrew Manze records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi USA and has released an astonishing variety of CDs. His latest recording is of Mozart Violin Concerti Nos. 3-5, played and directed by Manze with The English Concert. This has been 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. The Observer commented that “They don’t come much better than the elegant Andrew Manze, directing The English Concert while playing a stylish solo (and his own cadenzas) in three violin concertos.” Other recordings with The English Concert include another Mozart disc, 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 a fortepiano whose sound darkens as it softens and a 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.

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