Sebastian Manz

Sebastian Manz (born 1986 in Hanover) is a German clarinetist.

Sebastian Manz, son of pianist Wolfgang Manz and Julia Goldstein and grandson of the Russian violinist Boris Goldstein, began studying clarinet at Musikhochschule Lübeck in 1997.

He won first place in Jugend musiziert in 1994 and 1999-2003. He was the first clarinetist in 40 years to win first prize in the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2008. In the same year, Manz and his partner on piano Martin Klett as "Duo Riul" won the first prize in of the German national competition Deutscher Musikwettbewerb.

Sebastian Manz was the recipient in 2012 of yet another ECHO Klassik award, this time in the "Chamber Music Recording of the Year" category, for his recording of the Mozart and Beethoven quintets together with Ramón Ortega Quero, Marc Trénel, David Alonso and Herbert Schuch. Just one year earlier, he received the coveted award in the "Newcomer of the Year" category for his excellent recording of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.

He studied under Sabine Meyer and Rainer Wehle. In his debut at the Tonhalle Zürich on 4 May 2010 he played Mozart's clarinet concerto with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie conducted by their designated chief conductor Eugene Tzigane. Manz performed with Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Germany, and Collegium Musicum Basel, Switzerland. Since 2010, he is soloist in the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra.

• In Rhythm. Works by Gerswhin, Reich, Piazzolla, Copland, Templeton, Villa-Lobos, Bernstein und Milhaud (Sebastian Manz, clarinet; Martin Klett, piano) Label:CAvi
• Mozart - Glière - Korngold. Sebastian Manz with Mozart’s clarinet concerto in A major, K 622. Symphonic orchestra of Bayerischer Rundfunk, Cornelius Meister. Label: BR Klassik
• Gottfried Hendrik Mann (1858-1904). Clarinet Concerto op. 90. Feest Prelude op. 95. Violin Concerto op.101. Suite no. 3 op. 98. (Sebastian Manz, clarinet; Akiko Amada, violin; Symphonieorchester Osnabrück, conductor: Hermann Bäumer) Label: cpo
• Christian Wilhelm Westerhoff (1763-1806). Clarinet Concerto op. 5. Concerto for Clarinet, Bassoon & Orchestra. Symphony in E flat major. (Sebastian Manz, clarinet; Albrecht Holder, bassoon; Symphonieorchester Osnabrück, conductor: Hermann Bäumer) Label: cpo
• Die Quintette von Mozart und Beethoven für Klavier und Bläser. Mozart: Quintett Es-Dur KV. 452 for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and fagott. Beethoven: Quintett Es-Dur op. 16 for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and fagott. Label: Indésens
• DUO RIUL. Works by Brahms, Berg, Debussy, Lutoslawski, Yun (Sebastian Manz, clarinet; Martin Klett, piano) Label: GENUIN

• First prize ARD International Music Competition, 2008
• Prize of Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, 2008: Duo clarinet/piano
• ECHO Klassik award 2011 in the category "Newcomer of the Year"
• ECHO Klassik award 2012 in the category "Chamber Music Recording of the Year"