Press Excerpts

Andrew Manze & Richard Egarr

“A world-beating partnership…a duo who complement each other to perfection.”
--Gramophone

“Unmissable, as good as it gets.”
--Boston Globe

“Arresting virtuosity, wonderfully warm musicality and an appealing sense of humor.”
“Sheer pleasure…left one's jaw hanging wide.”
--Los Angeles Times

“One of the beauties of Manze's and Egarr's performances is that they always allow themselves time to give the music full meaning. The outcome is playing that is persuasive in its vitality and freshness.”
--The Strad

“[Manze and Egarr] threw themselves into pieces…like musicians possessed.”
--Chicago Tribune

"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."
--Gramophone

 

Additional Praise for Andrew Manze

“Manze…has rightly been called a wizard.”
--The Los Angeles Times

“With Manze, ancient music is never old-fashioned….Through speaking and conducting, he renders the concert experience utterly comprehensible and consummately enjoyable.”
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Some sort of mad scientist running wild in an imaginary laboratory of 18th-century sound.”
-- New York Times

“His playing is at once spontaneously inventive and magisterially controlled…I've never heard the music played with such raw feeling.”
-- The New Yorker

“Sizzling virtuosity—the violin as chorus, orchestra, and ballet—so intense that it almost left a whiff of hellish sulfur hanging in the air.”
-- The Boston Globe

“Andrew Manze makes music as if possessed.”
--The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“A bona fide star…among the top violinists in all of classical music.”

“Manze scaled the full range of emotions and went for every gesture, no matter the risk. If I were looking to hook a group of potential listeners into classical music, I would bring them to Manze, not a classical violinist. He possesses that great gift of engaging the newcomer while pleasing the most learned fan.”
-- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Andrew Manze's performances hit with the force of revelation.”
--Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

“Astonishing…like hearing a manic Gypsy violinist who had been transported to 17th Century Italy.”
--Chicago Tribune

“Manze himself was a marvel, at times turning a halting ornamentation into exalted speech…at others using his bow virtually as a paintbrush….blinding virtuosity.”
--New York Times

"Andrew Manze is a violinist with extraordinary flair and improvisatory freedom, the Grappelli of the Baroque."
--BBC Music Magazine

"One of the great performers of our time in any genre.”
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Like the most talented musicians of any generation, he simply cannot be categorized."
--Fanfare

"Magic…It is the most convincing ‘period performance' I have ever heard."
--New York Times

 

Additional Praise for Richard Egarr

“Thrilling and revealing, this is Bach playing of real stature.”
--Gramophone

“Scintillating….Imaginatively interpreted.”
--The New York Times

“Egarr was a marvel.”
--Chicago Tribune

"Egarr's intimately dramatic approach…really makes these discs special."
--The Independent

"A triumph from every point of view."
--The Times (London). Rating: Five Stars.

"Perfect…Egarr demonstrated what a stylish player he is."
--Chicago Tribune

"A magnificent reading."
--Washington Post