The English Concert with Andrew Manze comes to UF

November 2, 2006

GAINESVILLE, FL – The English Concert with Andrew Manze will perform at 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 12, in University Auditorium. A pre-performance discussion with Manze will take place at 3 p.m.

Begun in 1973, The English Concert quickly earned a place among the world’s leading period instrument groups. With a passion for music-making and technical brilliance, the orchestra has become worldwide ambassadors for British performing arts groups. Manze joined the group in 2003, only the second artistic director in the orchestra’s history, and has quickly earned a reputation for his informative and lively program notes and for turning the classical repertoire on its head.

Long before Manze joined The English Concert, he was noted for his unique approach to classical playing. For a time, he performed works only by obscure composers, people you’d never heard of but that Manze called “supremely gifted craftsmen who produced brilliant works.” He challenged accepted notions about baroque music, preferring, instead, to approach works with freedom, an improvisational spirit and a lot of instrumental risk-taking. Manze brings that same musicianship, spirit and sense of risk-taking to The English Concert.

The first thing audiences will notice is the group’s attire. Gone are the stuffy black-and-white ensembles that have become de rigueur for classical groups. Instead, the women are outfitted in jewel-toned dresses and the men in shirts and pants, sans ties and jackets. This relaxed atmosphere puts the focus directly on the music. It also allows the group to serve up something a little musically different.

The English Concert’s stop in Gainesville marks the group’s only appearance at a Florida venue. As 2006 marks the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, the orchestra will present three Mozart works.

Tickets are available by calling the Phillips Center Box Office at (352) 392-2787 or (800) 905-ARTS (toll-free within Florida) or by calling Ticketmaster at (904) 353-3309.