MANRICO PADOVANI
violin
(Switzerland)
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BIOGRAPHY
Born in Zürich to parents of Italian origin, the Swiss violinist Manrico Padovani took up with his first violin at the age of seven. He was still quite young when Aida Stucki-Piraccini (teacher of Anne-Sophie Mutter) admitted him to her masterclass at the Winterthur Conservatory. Getting his soloist’s diploma there, he went on to join Herman Krebbers‘ masterclass at the Royal Conservatory in Amsterdam.
In addition he took part in special music seminars all over Europe, attended by soloists and composers of international repute such as B. Belkin, R. Ricci, F. Gulli, V. Pikaizen, D. Zsygmondy and K.H. Stockhausen.
In his short career he has won a wide range of Swiss prizes: the „Swiss Youth Music Festival Prize“, three times the „Kiefer-Hablitzel Prize“ of the Swiss Musicians‘ Association (in 1989, 1990 and 1993), as well as awards from the Julius Bär and the Schuler Foundation. The important “Jubilee prize” of the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) was also his.
“Devil’s fiddler”, “Forceful lyricist”, “Enchanting, bewitching violin”, “A rising star in the future violinists’ heaven”, “One of the great hopes of the younger generation of violinists” are only few of the words used by the critics to describe the emotions stirred up by Manrico Padovani during his performances distinguished by a breathtaking skill united to rhythmic tension and an exceptional mastery of the instrument.
Internationally he distinguished himself at the “IV Vienna International Music Competition”, at “Ruggiero Ricci’s International Master Competition” in Berlin and at the “Accademia Chigiana” in Siena.
He had his debut in 1992 with a successful recital at the International Music Festival in Lucerne, which was followed by invitations to perform at a number of other festivals such as the „Bad-Kissinger-Sommer“ and the „Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival“.
As a soloist he performed all over Europe, in America and in Asia with well-known orchestras like the „Stuttgarter Philharmoniker“, “Russian Philharmonic Orchestra Moscow”, the “Sinfonia Varsovia”, the „Südwestdeutsche Philarmonie“, the „Akademische Staatskapelle St. Petersburg“, the „Radio Sinfonie-Orchester Basel“, the „Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana“, the „Regina Symphony Orchestra“ etc. under the batons of conductors like R. Barshai, M. Viotti, A. Boreiko, H. Griffiths, M. Andreae, V. Conta, J. Lü, B Perrenoud and P. Altrichter.
Hew also performed in chamber music concerts with artists like the pianists G. Wyss, Y. Hori, the cellist B. Pergamenschikov, the violinist I. Faust and the Quartetto di Milano.
In several European and americancountries he recorded performances on Radio and TV (a.o. SF, DRS2, TSI, RSI Rete 2, Hessischer Rundfunk, North Canadian Broadcast Company, Cyprus National TV ).
So far Manrico Padovani has recorded three CDs: Violin concertos by Brahms op. 77 and Prokofjew op. 19, Violin concerto op. 61 and Romances by Beethoven as well as Sonatas by Debussy, Poulenc, Honegger (no 1) and Janacek.
High point of this year will be the completation of the recording of the 24 Caprices op. 1 by Niccolò Paganini and his second Japan Tournée 2006.
At the moment, Manrico Padovani plays on a „Del Gesù-Vuillaume“ made in Paris in 1861.
REVIEW
„A Rising Star In The Violinists‘ Firmament“
„After the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Basel conducted by M. Viotti had played Prokofjew’s „Symphonie classique“ the violinist Manrico Padovani struck an entirely different note in Camille Saint-Saëns‘ „Introduction et Rondò capriccioso“ for violin and orchestra. With softly nuanced yet precisely delineated tones the Zurich violinist produced – as if by magic – from the very first entry an atmosphere of enchantment in the concert hall and proved himself thereafter to be a master of lyrical phrasing with a fine sense of tone colours. This raised the composition far above its status as a show-piece for virtuosos, even if Padovani later in Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasie confirmed his position as a front-raking virtuoso with his mesmerically beautiful playing of the harmonic passages.“
Luzerner Neuste Nachrichten
„Howard Griffiths and the orchestra complemented the soloist in such a way as to make it possible for him to give a well-defined interpretation of substance. Manrico Padovani did full justice to the often horrendously difficult solo part (Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto No. 3). Above and beyond his mastery of all the technical difficulties he impressed with his full and unstrained volume of sound up to the very extreme positions. In addition he succeeded in creating a most lively interplay between him and the orchestra... Giving another sample of his quite extraordinary talent the young artist – as an encore – played a „Ballade“ for solo violin by the Belgian E. Ysaye. Whatever tests one can apply to a violinist’s technique, those horrendously fast runs and those trickily many-part chords are it, and Padovani mastered them triumphantly.“
J. Röthlisberger, Zuger Nachrichten
„... Prokofjew’s Violin Sonata No. 1 was given a disquieting atmosphere by the soloist; in the subtle rhythm, the delicate working-out of the themes a tense tremor could be heard, which felt quite aggressive, but all the more fascinating for it. It allowed him to develop a number of moods representing a kaleidoscope of abrupt changes, some provocative, some, hypnotising...“
Basler Zeitung
„Judged by his achievements Manrico Padovani is one of the great hopes of the younger generation of violinists.“
H. Meier, IMF Lucerne, Luzerner Zeitung
„... Quality often became self-evident, like for example in the Zurich violinist Manrico Padovani, who attracted a good deal of attention with his virtuoso performance of sonatas by G. Tailleferre, A. Honegger and F. Poulenc.”
E. Kohlhaas, IMF Lucerne, Frankfurter Allgemeine
“... Here an obviously natural talent for the violin is allied to a temperament which is as tempestuous as it is enthralling. His extraordinary virtuosity enables him to master the most extreme violinistic difficulties, not just reliably, but with the greatest assurance. ... During the performance of Prokofjew’s Concerto D-major Op. 19 the young violinist grew in stature as a soloist. Breathtaking skill united itself to rhythmic tension, to a dance-like grace and to a sparkling spirit. ... Ably seconded by M. Albrecht and the City Orchestra, Padovani was rewarded with tumultuous applause for his impressive performance.”
R. Wolfensberger, Landbote Winterthur
“...And finally the performance of the 26-year-old soloist provided the scintillating climax of the musical event. The young Manrico Padovani proved himself to be on top of his task. His astonishing virtuosity mastered all the tricky bits and his song-like delivery made all the hearts go out to him. It was a signal experience that Manrico Padovani and the Gruppo Concertistico della Svizzera Italiana offered their audience.”
S. Wenger, Interlakner Festwochen
“Paganini’s Concerto Op. 6 No. 1 turned the startlingly young soloist into the audience’s declared favourite. Paganini’s most important concerto offers the soloist every conceivable opportunity to display his talents: dizzying arpeggios and multi-part playing tumble about headlong, letting Padovani have a field with this acrobatic piece and leaving the audience spellbound. Manrico Padovani showed how to bring off such a tour de force brilliantly and effortlessly. ... Having witnessed his amazing talent, his audience rewarded him with tumultuous applause and loud cries of bravo.”
S. Kaufmann, Landbote Winterthur
“...Then came the turn of soloist Manrico Padovani who interpreted the concerto for violin and string orchestra by F. Mendelssohn-Bartoldy. The young virtuoso was admired for his polished technique, the mellowness and smoothness of his sound and the exceptional mastery of his instrument, even in the most difficult passages...”
Rivista di Lugano
“Padovani’s Violin Enchants the Public!”
“... The 15 string instruments of the “Gruppo concertistico della Svizzera Italiana” perfectly sustained the virtuosity of Padovani’s parables. Padovani proved maturity in his interpretation, showing off an extremely brilliant marking of phrases...”
L’informatore
“... While listening to Padovani, we put ourselves for a second in the shoes of the virtuosi of that period, of the violinists who once faced the same scores. One really comes to believe that those who were capable of a valuable performance were indeed very very few...”
S.M.B., Giornale del Popolo
“... The violin-piano recital I attended last Saturday within the musical event organized by “OGGI-musica” was definitely the most interesting and captivating I have listened to in the past years... On the programme were compositions of Honegger, Wettstein, Hoch, Pärt and Lutoslawsky... It is not easy to offer a programme of this kind: it takes courage, energy and determination, along with the abundant ability to carry it out... These all are gifts that Manrico Padovani and Yukiko Hori proved to have in the proper amount. Padovani played with great liveliness and confidence, readily seizing each piece’s figure. His interpretations were excellently performed and profoundly felt...”
F. de Carli, Corriere del Ticino
“...Those were deeply satisfying moments when the violinist Manrico Padovani set the concert hall aglow with the incandescence of his Furioso, and this in rare harmony with the orchestra (the Stuttgart Philarmonic). The concert itself was a display of musical gems... So prolonged was the applause that Padovani was moved to an extended encore with breathtaking double stops, sending the audience into raptures again... A forceful Finale marked the end of the concert that once more confirmed the excellent name of the Tak-Abo-concerts.”
Liechtensteiner Volksblatt
“The devil’s own violinist”
Südkurier Konstanz
“Manrico Padovani risked it all on Paganini’s First Concert – and won.”
Südkurier Konstanz
“Accentuating the violin’s grand sweep is his forte.” (Dvorak, concerto in a minor op. 53 )
Badische Zeitung