He studied cello, composition and conducting, graduating with honors and honorable mention from the CNSM Conservatory in Paris, the Milan Conservatory, the Juilliard School in New York and the Musikhochschule in Vienna. Orfeo Mandozzi has worked regularly with leading cellists, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo Yo Ma, Harvey Shapiro, Daniel Shafran, Paul Tortelier and Maurice Gendron. In addition to a long working relationship with Boris Kuschnir, he had a close musical and personal collaboration with Bernard Greenhouse, who said of the cellist, “I consider Orfeo Mandozzi one of the leading cellists of our time.”
His international concert activity as a soloist includes tours to almost every European country, the United States, South and Central America, and the Middle East, as well as numerous radio, television, and CD productions. CD recordings, in particular, reflect Orfeo Mandozzi’s extensive repertoire and include award-winning recordings of solo and chamber music. The world premiere recording of the Fiala concertos has sold more than 4,000 copies worldwide. The recordings have won numerous awards and Orfeo Mandozzi’s performance has been described as “so enchanting,” “to hold your breath” (pizzicato).
Orfeo Mandozzi performs regularly with Nikolaj Znaider, Julian Rachlin, David Garrett, Gérard Caussé, Yuri Bashmet, Itamar Golan, Bernd Glemser, and many others. He has also been a member of the Vienna Brahms Trio (Boris Kuschnir, violin and Jasminka Stancul, piano) for more than 28 years. Since 2019 he has been a member of the Philharmonic five ensemble, with which his arrangements will be broadcast this year during the interlude film of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert.
As a soloist, Orfeo Mandozzi has performed with conductors Fabio Luisi, Kristjan Järvi, Gerhard Markson, Andrew Litton, Hermann Breuer, Alfred Eschwé, Ola Rudner, Jesus Amigo, Giancarlo Andretta, among others, Filip Bral, Thomas Briccetti, Mario Venzago, Michail Jurowski, Christian Kolonovits, Peter Keuschnig, Georg Mark, Gunnard Mattes, Arid Remmereit, Karolos Trikolidis, Kees Bakels, Simon Blech and Philippe Entremont.
As an orchestral musician, Orfeo Mandozzi was first cello in the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. This was followed by 15 years as principal cellist of the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra and, more recently, as guest principal cellist of the Zurich Opera. He worked for many years as a substitute at the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, where he collaborated with conductors such as Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haiting, Georg Solti, Pierre Boulez, Daniele Gatti, Horst Stein, George Pretre, Michael Halaz, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Fabio Luisi, Daniel Harding, Christian Thielemann, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Franz Welser-Möst, Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinz Wallberg and many others.
In addition to his concert activity, Prof. Orfeo Mandozzi is an internationally sought-after teacher. He has been a professor at the Vienna Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik und Kunst in Würzburg, and currently at the University of the Arts in Zurich and the Winterthur Conservatory. Year after year, the professor’s students win first prizes in national and international competitions.
Since 2012, Orfeo Mandozzi has been the artistic director of “Live music now” in Zurich, an association founded by Yehudi Menuhin that continues to bring music to people who do not have the opportunity to go to a concert. He has also been a member and faculty member at Musethica since 2015.
Orfeo Mandozzi plays a cello made by Francesco Ruggeri from 1675 (Cremona).