Biography

Manuel Lipstein was born in Germany in 2001. He began playing the cello at the age of six, and four years later began studying with Prof. Katharina Deserno and Prof. Maria Kliegel at the Cologne University of Music. Manuel Lipstein has been studying as a young soloist at the Kronberg Academy with Prof. Frans Helmerson since September 2019. He is tutored in composition by Prof. Gerhard Müller-Hornbach and in conducting by Prof. Vassilis Christopoulos. 

Manuel received further inspiration in masterclasses from Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich, Leonid Gorokhov, Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt and Jens-Peter-Maintz, among others. He also receives a scholarship from the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and takes part in the intensive music weeks and activities that take place there. 

The German-Argentine cellist and composer is at home on the world's stages. His travels take him across Europe, Japan, China and Armenia. He plays in the most renowned halls, including the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Beijing Concert Hall, the Cologne Philharmonic and the Herkulessaal in Munich. 

As a soloist, he played with the WDR Sinfonieorchester and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, among others, and regularly performs chamber music with his brother and pianist Rafael Lipstein. The Lipstein duo was named the “Best of NRW” ensemble and is celebrated by the press as an exceptional duo. 

Manuel has already won numerous national and international competitions. He received the “Premier Grand Prix” at the “Concours Flame” in Paris, the 1st prize and the special prize at the “Concours de Violoncelle Prix Edmond Baert” in Brussels and was awarded the “WDR 3 Klassikpreis der Stadt Münster”. He is also a prizewinner at the “Antonio Janigro Competition” in Croatia and at the “Karl Friedrich Dotzauer Competition” in Dresden. As the youngest participant ever, he became a finalist in the “TONALi18 music competition” in Hamburg, received the 3rd prize and was accepted into the TONALiSTEN agency. 

As a composer, Manuel has performed at the AchtBücken Festival in Cologne and at the Aurora Festival in Sweden, among others. For his compositions he has already received several state and federal prizes at “Jugend Composed” as well as a WASPE special prize. His work “Two Scenes for Recorder Solo” was nominated as a compulsory piece at the ERPS competition in Bolzano and is published by Edition Walhall. He is also writing a composition for the “250 pieces for Beethoven” project. 

Manuel stands out for his multi-faceted, top-class appearances. He reinterprets the classics of the concert repertoire in an inspiring way and, through his commitment to both old and new music, designs his concerts in a refreshingly diverse way. He caused a sensation by choosing special concert locations, e.g. the MS Stubnitz in the Hamburg harbor, and by his extraordinary chamber music partners, e.g. Japanese koto players. Manuel Lipstein rounds off his musical activities by conducting as well as teaching cello and music theory. 

Manuel is a scholarship holder of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and receives a Dr. Rainer and Christel Stoll scholarship. He also plays social concerts for Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Frankfurt.