Born in Ticino, Orfeo Mandozzi made his debut as a soloist with orchestra at the Eurovision Competition just four years after beginning his cello studies. Winner of numerous international competitions – including Johannes Brahms, Osaka, UFAM Paris, Orpheus, and Illzach – he pursued an outstanding education in cello, composition, and conducting.
He graduated with highest honors (summa cum laude and Mention of Honor) from the CNSM in Paris, the Milan Conservatory, the Juilliard School in New York, and the University of Music in Vienna. He has collaborated with great masters such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Harvey Shapiro, Daniil Shafran, Paul Tortelier, and Maurice Gendron. His artistic and personal connection with Bernard Greenhouse was particularly close, with Greenhouse describing him as “one of the leading cellists of our time”.
His international career has taken him on tours throughout Europe, the United States, Latin America, and the Middle East. He has recorded numerous CDs for radio, television, and major labels, including the world premiere recording of Joseph Fiala’s concertos (over 4,000 copies sold). Pizzicato magazine described his sound as “enchanting” and “breathtaking”.
He regularly performs with artists such as Nikolaj Znaider, Julian Rachlin, David Garrett, Gérard Caussé, Itamar Golan, and Bernd Glemser. He has been a longstanding member of the Vienna Brahms Trio (with Boris Kuschnir and Jasminka Stancul) for over 28 years and, since 2019, a member of the Philharmonic Five, an ensemble of the Vienna Philharmonic. Some of his arrangements with this ensemble were featured during the intermission of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert.
He has appeared as a soloist under conductors including Fabio Luisi, Kristjan Järvi, Andrew Litton, Mario Venzago, Philippe Entremont, Michail Jurowski, Giancarlo Andretta, Jesus Amigo, and Ola Rudner. He served as principal cellist of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and for 15 years of the Tonkünstler Orchestra. He has also been guest principal cellist at the Zurich Opera and collaborated for many years with the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, working with conductors such as Carlos Kleiber, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Simon Rattle, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Seiji Ozawa, and Pierre Boulez.
Highly active in teaching, he has held professorships at the Vienna Conservatory and the Hochschule für Musik in Würzburg. He currently teaches at the Zurich University of the Arts and the Winterthur Conservatory. His students regularly win top prizes in national and international competitions.
Since 2012, he has served as Artistic Director of Live Music Now Zurich, the organization founded by Yehudi Menuhin, and since 2015 he has been an active member and instructor at Musethica.
Orfeo Mandozzi plays a precious Francesco Ruggeri cello from 1675 (Cremona).