Pressklipp Andrew Manze

His imaginative and sensitive phrasing always serves the music, not his own ego. He makes even the most repetitive little figures, which could easily come off as dry exercises, sound strange and new, and his double- and triple-stop passages seem natural and necessary, not like violin tricks… Manze’s sense of spontaneous fantasy is perfect for Vivaldi, and he’s capable of a variety of tone that in a single movement runs the gamut from gut-string standard to Paganini-style cantabile. His generous ornaments in the slow movements seem perfectly organic, never tacked on, and he leads the English Concert in performances that are lively but not hard-driven.

Strings Magazine (Vivaldi, Biber)

The introductory music, contrasting pastoral sonorities with dashing solo string passage work, already amounts to a concerto grosso in itself – with the strings of The English Concert directed from the first violin with characteristic fire by Andrew Manze.

The Independent (Handel – Aci, Galatea e Polifemo)

This is violin playing of an extremely high order from Manze: rhythms beautifully springy, articulation clear and precise, intonation perfect, and great refinement in the shaping of phrases – he has real command of the logic of the music, of why it does what it does… An outstanding CD in every way.

Gramophone (Vivaldi – Concertos for the Emperor)

Manze needed no collaborators on this occasion… to demonstrate how an artist can command a stage through sheer musical brains and brio.The Baroque violinist played four solo works, as well as an encore, with a sense of adventure and freedom that gave new perspectives to old music… Manze invested the Tartini wit extraordinary passion and subtlety. He tamed the technical beasts while making musical sense of the dizzying figurations
and contrasting materials… a mesmerizing lesson on how to mix structural cohesion with expressive fluency.

Cleveland Plain Dealer (In recital at Cleveland Museum of Art)

Manze has repeatedly demonstrated that the heart of Baroque music lies beyond what is on the printed page, and that the performer has a crucial creative role to play. At a time when improvisational flair and spontaneity have never been a more exciting part of Baroque music-making, Manze and his accompanist Richard Egarr are the masters of it.

Gramophone (Corelli – Violin Sonatas)

Manze seems to have revitalized the 18-member ensemble. Enthusiasm and high technical standards characterize the playing overall.The performers clearly are having a good time and constantly taking the measure of their own pleasure as well as one another’s. Manze himself never lets down his
virtuoso standards… He found nuances, contrasts and details in abundance. He is spontaneous and unflagging. He has rightly been called a wizard.

Los Angeles Times

When he wasn’t introducing the works in an erudite but engaging manner, Manze stood at the helm of the violins, twisting toward his also-standing colleagues to signal downbeats.The players tore through fast movements with a fierce esprit de corps that felt joyous, never forced or merely brusque. In three concertos by Vivaldi, string lines ricocheted back and forth like ping-pong balls, elegantly articulated and superbly controlled…
If you thought period instrument bands have to sound scrawny and anemic,
you haven’t heard Manze’s.

Chicago Tribune

Led by Manze as first violinist, the musicians played with zest, crisp technique and emotional commitment. Founded in 1973 by Trevor Pinnock, the London-based English Concert is one of the most important period-instrument ensembles. With Manze’s arrival as artistic director last season, the group has become more vital than ever… Vigorous playing, fresh repertoire, it was a night of Baroque music to remember.

Chicago Sun-Times

Baroque violinist Andrew Manze might be called today’s pied piper of early music.To hear him speak about music is to be drawn in and fascinated by his lively delivery and explorations down musical highways and byways. His program notes are equally enjoyable to read. But to hear him play is to be thrilled, amazed, awed and enchanted by both music and musician.

Seattle Post

The violinist held our interest with humor and surprise: unexpected little hesitations of tempo, precipitous drops in dynamic (volume) and thunderous figurations giving way to tunefulness… Manze joined the ensemble in 2003,
and his mercurial temperament has lent a wildness to the group that on Friday made ”sewing machine” music sound like anything but.The surest way to keep our interest is to keep us saying, ”I wonder what they’ll do next.”

Kansas City Star

Manze appears to take delving into music history seriously, but fortunately not himself. The divertimento had the familiar cadence and harmonies typical of ordered Baroque music, but the long, breathless phrases in the andante movement and the festive celebratory feel of the presto ending with its harmonic diversions were more genius than ingenuous.

Sacramento Bee

Mr. Manze uses that purely physical freedom considerably: there is no mistaking his downbeat, which sometimes involves a twist toward the players behind him and a slight, deft shuffle that would do a rock guitarist proud. His trim, energetic ”Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” was driven by adventurous tempo manipulations and big dynamic contrasts.

New York Times

Andrew Manze’s rise to prominence as a period violinist has been spectacular. But now, his leadership of the eminent group the English Concert has put him at the head of an early music institution. With the stakes thus raised, the ensemble’s scintillating performance Saturday night at the Byham Theater did nothing but reinforce his position as the premier artistic force in early music… New blood has arrived in the person of Manze… He has has moved the group to the powerhouse label Harmonia Mundi and has infused it with his marvelous combination of fiery playing and audience accessibility…Manze pounces on a line like a cat. His bow attacks the strings with quick determination… The course that the period or original instrument movement has taken has been fascinating. With Manze at the helm, its horizons are brighter than ever.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

”Manze takes a surprisingly Romantic view of the Eroica, with a lingering account of its funeral march second movement that allows the trumpets to ring out to overwhelming effect in the C major blaze of sound immediately preceding the first reprise of the initial funeral march theme. The remainder of the Symphony is no less impressive, with accomplished playing from the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. This is an Eroica to set alongside recent recommendations from Paavo Järvi and the Bremen Kammerphilharmonie (RCA), and Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. Manze’s disc shouldn’t be missed.”