Konstantin Manaev inspires his audience worldwide and has earned much praise for his concerts in New York, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, Berlin, Zurich, Vienna, Milan, St. Petersburg and Tokyo. He made his orchestra debut at the Berlin Philharmonie with Berliner Camerata in 2014. His debut at Tonhalle Zurich with the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester was in 2011.
Konstantin Manaev began learning Cello with 1. Suite of J. S. Bach. When he was six years old, his mother, a pianist, played him the piano prelude from 1. Suite of Bach and he felt totally electrified and wanted to repeat the melody immediately. But his mother argued: ‚Kostjuscha, if you like to play this, you must learn to play cello, because Bach composed the piece for cello, not for piano.‘ Within a week he had a small 1/8 cello and began practicing Bach.“ Three years later, Konstantin Manaev played at the „New Names“ concert in Takamatsu, Japan. From that moment on he was sure he would become a cellist. «Since that time, music has been my faith and my religion.»
In 2016, Konstantin Manaev experienced another remarkable event with Bach’s Suite no. 1: After the concert for the commemoration of the murdered jews of Europe in Berlin, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel asked Manaev for this special work as an encore – much to the pleasure of the attending audience.
Born in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Konstantin Manaev began his studies at the Special- Music-School at the Moscow Conservatory under Kyrill Rodin and later at Carl Maria von Weber Conservatory in Dresden at Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, and at the Academy of Music in Basel at Ivan Monighetti, who played a large part in promoting his musical individuality and force of interpretation. He won more than fifteen international competitions, including Willkomirski cello competition in Poznan, VI. ADAM cello competition in Christchurch (New Zealand), RAHN Kulturfond competition in Zurich, and Young Concert Artists European Audition in Leipzig.
Partners in Chamber music are e.g.: Benjamin Kim, Danae Dörken, Sol Gabetta, François Benda, Bruno Giuranna, Misha Maisky, Felix Renggli, Yury Revich, Radovan Vlatkovic, Aydar Gaynullin, SIGNUM saxophone quartet, as well as composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina and Franghiz Ali- Zadeh. Konstantin Manaevs concert repertoire ranges from early baroque up to modern works. Many modern composers dedicate him new works: Johanna Doderer (Vienna) , Alexandra Filonenko (Berlin), Aziza Sadikova (Berlin), Helmut Zapf (Berlin), Alexey Sioumak (Moscow) and Gordon Hamilton (Sidney).
Konstantin Manaev has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheus Moscow Radio Orchestra, the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra, the Lucerne and Basel Symphony Orchestras, the Federal Youth Orchestra of Germany, the Vienna Young Philharmonic, the Ural Philharmonic Yekaterinburg, the Cologne Sinfonietta, the Santander Festival Orchestra, the Babelsberg Film Orchestra, the Northwest German Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic and the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra.
Two special recordings from the label GWK Records give evidence of his versatility: «Three Cello- Concertos from Philipp Emanuel Bach, accompanied by the Camerata Berlin, are breath-taking events. [...] Remote from all historic arrangements, far from every convention, with his instrument the cellist unchains a degree of freedom, which is seldom heard! Sensitive whispering pianissimi, fascinating lyricism, deep grumbling basses, dizzying rollercoaster rides: Manaev is a sovereign master of his instrument and able to call from it all possibilities of virtuosity, impulsiveness, intensity and lyrical smoothness. Manaev’s C. P. E. Bach, ideal assisted by the Camerata Berlin, lives by never diminishing espressivo.» Remy Franck | Pizzicato, Luxemburg.
Konstantin Manaev has played compositions by Aserbaidshan composer Frangis Ali-Sade, as first- recording „Counteractions (Yanar Dag) for violoncello and accordion” as well as „Oyan! for violoncello solo”. Both CDs have been discussed in the European press, e.g. Klassik heute (DE), The Strad Magazin (UK), Anaclase Magazin (FR) and Pizzicato (LU), Melomano Magazin (SP) as „outstanding records".
He play one Cello of Johannes Theodorus Cuypers (1762) and one modern Instrument of Yury Pochekin.
Important Stations: Festival Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Piatigorsky Festival in Los Angeles, Viana do Castelo Music Festival in Porto, Viva Cello Festival in Basel, Kanonji Music Festival in Takamatsu, Beethovenfest in Bonn, ZDF New Year Concert 2017 on Brandenburger Gate in Berlin, Semper Oper Dresden, Tonhalle Zürcih, Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gürzenich Köln, Gasteig Philharmonie Munich, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid. TV and Radio broadcasts at: Morgenmagazin ZDF, BR-Klassik, ARD, Kulturradio Deutschland, Klassikradio, WDR3, RBB.
Konstantin Manaev lives in Berlin, he is Artistic Director of the «Fürstenwalder Musikzyklus» concert series in Brandenburg.