Biography

Manuel Fernandez began music education in his hometown Logrono, Spain, in Conservatorio Profesional de Música de La Rioja, where he studied under Professor Juan José Albiyana.

His later career as an interpreter of the 20th century music came under the invaluable influence of Pedro Espinosa, pianist from Madrid, with whom Fernandez cooperated in this period.

During his education in Spain, he participated in master classes given by such pianists as: Ricardo Requejo, Vitaly Margulis, Joaquin Achúcarro.

Fernandez continued his studies in the Academy of Music in Krakow under Professor Andrzej Pikula and then Professor Mariusz Sielski. The next stage of his education was the Academy of Music in Katowice and cooperation with Professor Czesław Stańczyk and Professor Andrzej Jasiński, as well as Professor Andrzej Dutkiewicz at the University of Music in Warsaw. In this period, he also travelled to Italy to participate in the classes given by Lya de Barberiis from Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

During his education in Poland, Fernandez received numerous prizes and distinctions in the competitions held in Spain (Fermin Gurbindo, Juventudes musicales), Italy (Gravina in Puglia, Germany (Juventudes musicales), Switzerland and Poland (the Chopin Competition in Ostrów Wielkopolski). He also took part in contemporary music interpretation competitions in Krakow, Rome, Bern and Rotterdam.

After finishing his education in Poland, Fernandez decided to explore the music of the 20th and 21st centuries more deeply, so he moved to Switzerland, where he cooperated with Musikhochschule in Lucerne and Zurich University of the Arts (with Florian Hoelscher and Martin Christ).

It is in Switzerland where he began his career as a pianist specializing in contemporary music, performing almost in all European countries and in Asia. Since that moment, he has based his concerts almost exclusively on the 20th and 21st century music, playing on festivals in Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Ukraine, Malesia, Indonesia and Mongolia.

Manuel Fernandez’s interpretations are characterized by sincerity and show the pianist’s personality, charisma and strength. This allows him to present every, even not easy, repertoire to each kind of audience. He plays both contemporary classical music and works of lesser-known composers.