| Biography | Wolfgang Manz, born in 1960, is prizewinner of many prestigious international piano competitions such as Leeds (1981) and Brussels (Concours Reine Elisabeth, 1983), the first time that a German pianist won 2nd prizes in these competitions, furthermore winner of the Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Prize Berlin 1980, 2nd prize at the National German Music Competition in Bonn 1982 and a jury discretionary award in the 1989 Van Cliburn International Pianoforte Competition in Texas/USA. Manz has been influenced by two very different traditions, by the Czech pianist Drahomir Toman, a representative of the Eastern European school originating from Theodor Leschetizky, whereas he adapted elements of the German tradition at the renowned University of Music at Hanover in the class of Prof. Karlheinz Kämmerling. |