MANUEL ARAUJO ()

Considered one of the most promising Portuguese of his generation, Manuel Araujo was born in Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal) in 1983. Having started his musical education at the age of 5, with Norma Graça Silvestre and Felipe Nabuco Silvestre, he continued his education in Codarts, University of Professional Arts Education in Rotterdam, in the class of the Aquiles Delle Vigne, where he graduated with the highest degree (Cum Laude). Received enriching musical advices from musicians like Mikhail Voskresensky, Angela Hewitt, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Ronald Brautigam, Gabriel Kwok, Helena Sá e Costa, Sequeira Costa, Fausto Di Cesare, Enrico Pace, Luiz de Moura Castro, Wofgang Holzmair, Emanuel Krasovsky,

Gary Hoffman and Choong Mo Kang.

Made his professional debut in at the age of 17, after being awarded the first prize by unanimity in the National Prize for Young Pianists “Fundação Rotária Portuguesa”, dedicated to the Portuguese leading pianist and pedagogue Helena Sá e Costa (disciple of , Vianna da Motta and Alfred Cortot), who presided the jury.

As a young pianist was awarded 1 st prize in several competitions in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Japan and Belgium, namely the Premier Prix in the 89th Concours International Léopold Bellan in , the 34th Yokohama International Concert, San Sebastian International Competition (Spain), Codarts Virtuoso Piano Competition (Netherlands), Primavera Pianistica (Belgium), Mascia Masin and F. Zadra (Italy), Maria Campina (Portugal). Was as well prize-winner in the Interfest-Bitola International Piano Competition (Macedonia), Young Musicians Prize RDP (Portugal), and Jeunesses Musicales Portugal. Won Special Prizes of the jury in Vianna da Motta International Piano Competition, Riviera del Conero International Music Competition (Italy) and S. Sebastian International Competition. Performed in Portugal, Spain, France, Israel, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Germany, Russia, Belgium, Brazil, Austria, Macedonia, Japan and Taiwan. Venues include Amsterdam’s Schouwburg and Concertgebouw, Hermitage Imperial Theatre and Briantzev Theatre St. Petersburg, Seymour Center in Sydney, S. Clemente Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Lucent The Hague, Philips Zaal Eindhoven, Schouwburg and De Doelen in Rotterdam, S. Luiz Theatre, S. Carlos National Theatre and CCB in Lisbon, Casa da Música Porto, Bitola National Theatre, Salla Filarmonica Trento, Accademia Filarmonica Romana, Alte Handelsboerse and Mendelssohnhaus in Leipzig, Brussels Gothic Hall of the City Hall, Wiener Zaal and Solitar Mozarteum Salzburg, Felicja Blumental Center in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem Theatre, Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall or Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center Taipei. Cooperated with the choreographer Ton Simons and the company Dance Works Rotterdam in the productions Human Figures and Moving Being, performing Well Tempered Clavier Book I of J. S. Bach in a tour that included the most prestigious venues in The Netherlands and lasted 3 seasons.

Was invited to participate in several Festivals, including Sintra, Mafra, Cap Ferret, Openlook St. Petersburg, Sommerakademie Mozarteum Salzburg, Alcobaça, Forum Internacional Torrelodones, the 4 Seasons of Vidago, the Euro Music Festival Leipzig, Festa na Baixa CNC, Festival Euro-Mediterraneo Calabria, Viseu Music Spring and the Rotterdam Operadagen, where he performed Reminiscences de D. Juan in the Liszt Opera transcriptions marathon (Concertgebouw De Doelen). Performed with live broadcasting for Euroradio (EBU), Kol Ha Musica IBA (Israel), RTP2 e Antena 2 (Portugal) and for ABC Classic FM (Australia).

As a soloist, performed with the Oporto National Orchestra, Sinfonia Rotterdam, Rotterdam Ensemble, Macedonian Philharmonic, Orquestra de Espinho, Orquestra Sinfónica do Atlântico,

Orquestra Sinfónica Esproarte, Orquestra do Norte (Portugal) and Orquestra Filarmonica di Stato “P. Constantinescu” di Ploiesti (Romania), with the conductors Lior Shambadal, Conrad van Alphen, Claudio Cohen, Anton Nanut, José Ferreira Lobo, Marc Tardue, Manuel Ivo Cruz, Sergio Alapont, Ahmed El Saedi, Gustavo Delgado, Artur Pinho Maria, Roberto Beltran, Roberto Misto and Enrique Bátiz.

Manuel Araújo was Assistant Piano Professor of professor Aquiles Delle Vigne in Codarts, University of Arts in Rotterdam and in Schola Cantorum Paris. Was invited to give masterclasses and lectures in Kawai Omotesando Tokyo, Chinese Culture, National Chiao Tung and Chung Yuan Universities, Taipei, Forum Musikae Madrid, Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa, University of Coimbra, and Esproarte Mirandela. Was a guest juror of the Taiwan International Piano Ensemble Competition and StayHome International Piano Competition 2020 (Italy). He is presently Artistic Vice-Director, Professor and Managing Director of Academia Internacional de Música “Aquiles Delle Vigne”, in Coimbra and member of the artistic direction of the Coimbra World Piano Meeting and Sardoal International Piano Meeting.