Biography

"Kindness and care in music can be compared to care in growing a plant. My relationship with a musical composition is therefore like a creature that grows, evolves and needs continuous attention to do so".

(Manrico Padovani-Edition Genteltude)

Manrico Padovani, Swiss violinist of Italian origin is defined by critics as the "Wizard of the Violin" for his musical intensity and technical agility. He is not only a great musician able to excite and establish contact with his audience, but he involves and fascinates them by explaining classical music in a clear way, bringing it closer to everyone, even the youngest audience members.

Manrico strongly believes that the future of music is in the creation of bridges between one style of music and another. Over the years, in fact, he has undertaken several projects, including with Spanish pop stars such as Daniel Diges and Manolo Carrasco and performed the first executions of compositions written especially for him by Thomas Fortmann and Stefano Mongiusti.

At the age of twelve and a half, the violin became the sole focus of his life after watching a film about the life and career of the famous Italian violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini. Even though he started playing later than his colleagues, Manrico - inspired by Paganini - quickly reached an exceptionally high level in violin playing.

Paganini became immediately the artistic model for Manrico, who was fascinated by him not only for his musical inspiration, but also for his lack of compromise and total audacity.

At the age of fifteen, he won a prize at the "Swiss National Youth Competition" in Switzerland and received an invitation to become a member of the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra, kind of National Music Team, playing as the youngest member of the orchestra in the first violins.

His father, at first skeptical, was from now on convinced of Manrico's skills and talent and encouraged him to make audition at the Zurich Conservatory, where he was admitted as the youngest student in the professional departement.

In 1992, after obtaining the "SolistenDiplom" in the Master Class of Aida Stucki-Piraccini (also teacher of Anne-Sophie Mutter) at the Conservatory of Zurich-Winterthur, he made his debut in the great hall of Casino Basel. This was followed by several invitations to perform at some of the most prestigious European festivals such as the "Lucerne Festival", the "Interlakner Festwochen", the "Bad-Kissinger Sommer" and the "Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival".

As one of the greatest talents in Switzerland, Manrico was the first violinist to perform the complete cycle of the 24 Capricci op.1 for solo violin by Paganini during a concert in Zurich in 2006, a feat never accomplished by Paganini himself.

His international career led him to play in large halls such as the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Ohji Hall in Tokyo, the Phoenix Hall in Osaka, the Koelner Philharmonie, the Smetana Hall in Prague, the KKL in Lucerne and the "National Theatre" in Bucharest.

He has won several national and international prizes in competition such as the "International Music Competition" in Vienna, the "Ruggiero Ricci's International Master Competition" in Berlin and three times the "Kiefer-Hablitzel" Prize of the "Association of Swiss Musicians". 

He was also awarded with the "Artistic Contribution" by the Kuratorium of the canton of Aargau, and won awards from the Habisreutinger Foundation (use of the Stradivari Aurea of 1715), the “Julis Bär Foundation” (playing a valuable Vuillaume made in 1845 on loan) and the Bruno Schuler Foundation.

During his international tours he has performed with important orchestras such as the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sinfonia Varsoviae, the Academic State Capella Symphony Orchestra in St. Petersburg, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and Winterthur Musikkollegium Orchestra, under the direction of prestigious conductors such as R. Barshai, M. Viotti, A. Boreiko, H. Griffiths, M. Andrae, B. Perrenoud, C. Olivieri-Munroe and P. Altrichter.

Following the invitation and under the artistic direction of Anne-Sophie Mutter, in the spring of 2011, Manrico joined the ensemble "Mutter's Virtuosi", together with other selected young musicians for a series of 11 concerts in eleven major cities of Europe, playing as soloist and as a chamber musician with his famous German supporter.

Manrico also performed, along with the well-known Russian-Greek violinist Natasha Korsakova, in the "Sala Nervi " of Vatican City in honor of Pope Benedict XVI, in front of 9000 people. The event took place in collaboration with the "Sorella Natura" Foundation of Assisi, which deals with environmental awareness for young people and of which Manrico is a testimonial.

"Music is an art that has no language, it is an art that everyone perceives because it does not need to be told. Everyone feels it in a subjective way, everyone makes it his own and internalizes it and enjoys it as he believes, according to his sensitivity. It has no limits or boarders, no walls or prohibitions; it is the place of freedom." (Manrico Padovani)

Manrico likes to involve the public in his concerts and fascinate them with a simplified access key, playing precious instruments by Antonio Stradivari (Cremona, 1722), Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (Paris,1870), Joseph Gagliano (Napoli,1780) and Johann Baptist Rogerius (Brescia 1695).