Andrew Manze / Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra (see below)

BIOGRAPHY

Andrew Manze, conductor

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. He will also lead the Helsingborg Symphony on an 11-city North American tour in March-April, 2008.

Andrew Manze records exclusively for Harmonia Mundi USA and has released an astonishing variety of CDs. His latest release is Beethoven's “Eroica” Symphony, his first recording with the Helsingborg Symphony. 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.

January, 2008 – please destroy any previously dated or undated versions

Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra

The Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is one of Scandinavia's leading, most innovative orchestras. It has the reputation of being extremely ambitious and it relishes in a constant succession of new challenges.

The HSO was founded in 1912 and, since the 1980s has been recognized on an international level. This is not only due to the appointment of exceptionally professional, well-established Principal Conductors, but also to the artistic skills and commitment of the musicians. The 54 members of the orchestra have a sensitive, carefully cultivated style of playing, with the ability to combine precision with musical zeal to be both dedicated and disciplined. This renders a very distinctive sound: clear, vivacious and expressive.

One highlight of many successful international tours was in the autumn of 1999 with former Principal Conductor Okko Kamu. This particular tour took the HSO to both Germany and Austria, where it performed at some of Europe's most prestigious arenas: the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, die Philharmonie in Cologne and das Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg. In the spring of 2001 the orchestra took part in an international opera gala led by Bertrand de Billy at the Théatre Musical du Châtelet in Paris.

The Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra performs 70-80 concerts a season. Most of these are held in the Helsingborg Concert Hall but the HSO regularly gives regional concerts and participates or organizes festivals and outdoor concerts in other parts of Sweden and in Denmark. In fall 2006 they were a featured ensemble for a major Shostakovich retrospective held in Sweden and Denmark.

The HSO is renowned for its performances of music from the Classical and Romantic periods as well as contemporary music. The orchestra works on a regular basis with internationally celebrated conductors and soloists, who often express their deep appreciation of the orchestra's professionalism, enthusiasm and warmth.

The HSO's CD recordings have been released to critical acclaim. Franz Berwald's Symphonies (Naxos, 1995) was awarded a Diapason d'Or, and the Benjamin Britten recording (Ondine, 1994) featuring piano soloist Ralf Gothoni achieved a coup over other major new releases by making the Editor's Choice list in the British magazine Gramophone - the first Swedish symphony orchestra to do so. The CD recording of Swedish Classical Favourites (Naxos, 1995), conducted by Okko Kamu, received both gold and platinum discs, and remains among Sweden's best-selling classical albums. Their most recent release – their first under Andrew Manze's direction – features Beethoven's “Eroica” Symphony (harmonia mundi 807470).

January, 2008 – please destroy any previously dated or undated versions