MANFRED GRÄSBECK is one of Scandinavia's most distinguished violinists.

He began his musical training in his hometown, Turku, with his father, Gottfrid Gräsbeck, at the age of 4. Via the Turku Conservatory, Manfred Gräsbeck continued his studies at the Sibelius Academy from which he graduated as Master of Music in 1991. In 2015, he attained his Licentiate degree with his study on the Finnish compulsory works and their revealing violin techniques in the Jean Sibelius Competition.

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At the age of 14, Manfred Gräsbeck moved to Paris, and alongside his studies in Finland, he trained under Christian Ferras as his "élève personnel" for 7 years. From 1978-81, Gräsbeck studied with prof. Olga Parhomenko at the Kyiv State Conservatory (now called The Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music).

Prior to his studies in Kyiv, Manfred Gräsbeck won the First Nordic Violin Competition in Västerås, Sweden, after which he went on to have further success in national and international competitions such as the Tibor Varga (Sion) and Jean Sibelius (Helsinki).

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Gräsbeck made his soloist debut at the age of 16 with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra as well as the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra. Furthermore, he has performed over 70 violin concertos during his career; including Concertos of Aho, Bashmakov and G.Gräsbeck which were world premieres. The Concertos by Aho (BIS) and Bashmakov (Finlandia) have also been recorded.

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Manfred Gräsbeck's versatile musical career has included choir and orchestra conducting, as well as composing which he studied with Einojuhani Rautavaara. In 1988-89, Svenska Kulturfonden recognized Gräsbeck's merits by giving him a two-year scholarship for composing. His production covers over 100 opus, including a score and script for the 1994 short film Rapsodia del Diavolo which he also starred in. The film was broadcast by Finnish Television YLE TV1.

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Since 1986, Manfred Gräsbeck has widely performed together with his wife, organist and pianist, Maija Lehtonen. As a duo, they have recorded several albums, the music of F.Kreisler and J.Sibelius among others.

In 1982, Manfred Gräsbeck became leader of the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Helsinki.