The Modern Trumpeter of the 21st Century
1st PRIZE ARD MUSIC COMPETITION (Munich 2011)
A little bit of history
Born in 1985 in Daimiel (Ciudad Real), Manuel Blanco began his trumpet studies very early with Martin Baeza Rubio and Jose María Ortí Soriano. He is also currently receiving musical advice from the international concert artist Reinhold Friedrich, showing these three masters a special interest in his human and professional preparation.
He has won several competitions such as the Ciudad de Xátiva, Villena, Calviá, Moixent, Jeju (South Korea)… Since 2006 he has been the main trumpet of the spanish National Orchestra. His great international achievement came after winning the 1st prize at the prestigious ARD Music Competition in Munich 2011, earning the highest rating in the competition’s history. This award has only been awarded to two other trumpeters in 62 editions before Manuel Blanco, Maurice André being the first to win it in 1963. Blanco is considered his rightful heir.
He has worked as a trumpet soloist in first class orchestras such as Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, Gewandhaus of Leipzig, Philharmonic of Radio France, Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester, European Youth Orchestra, Berlin Staatsoper, Philharmonic Arturo Toscanini, Mozart Bologna Orchestra, Orchestra Teatro alla Scala Milán, Orquesta Santa Cecilia of Rome…. together with directors such as Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Yuri Temirkanov, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Josep Pons, Juanjo Mena, David Afkham,Pablo Heras-Casado, George Pehlivanian, Markus Bosch, Antonio Méndez, Andrés Salado, Martin Baeza-Rubio, Charles Olivieri-Munroe…
As a concert performer, he has played with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Chamber Orchestra, Jeju Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata XXI, Philarmonisches Orchester Würzburg in Mozarfest, Capella Symphonic Orchestra (St. Petersburg), Hofer Symphoniker, Niederrheinis Sinfoniker, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Mining Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra of Spain, Navarre Symphony Orchestra, RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Bilabao Symphony Orchestra or the Municipal Orchestra of Valencia, among many others.
Manuel is a model for his generation: quality and commitment from humility and generosity.
A romantic in the 21st century
One of the 100 celebrities of the year
Manuel is a model for his generation: quality and commitment from humility and generosity.
A romantic in the 21st century
One of the 100 celebrities of the year
A GENIUS WITH A PRIVILEGED BRAIN WORTHY MUSEUM
I have been working in the field of High Performance for more than three decades and, without a doubt, Manuel Blanco is one of the brains that I am most passionate about as a cognitive neuroscientific researcher within the sphere of great artists with whom I intervene.
Many researches certify that studying music changes the brain’s structure, even neuroanatomically. Musicians have very different brains from other people; in Manuel’s case, the complexities and sophistications involved in mastering the trumpet and the brain connections it activates have allowed us to revolutionize mental training. Manuel has a special endowment that allows him to make music with a virtuosity virtually unattainable, and his generosity, by allowing us to study him scientifically in depth, has marked a historic position in the design of training systems in Psychology Applied to High Performance, a goal achieved after studying the structure, functioning and needs of his brain, and that has been very useful to help reach the highest artistic heights to new musicians and, at the same time, it has enabled us to climb a good number of steps in the knowledge and investigation of genius, an exclusive club in which Manuel Blanco has entered with the sublime magic of his trumpet, as well as in other moments of history and with other tools by Einstein, Mozart, Alicia Alonso, Picasso and Dalí, among others.
Behind the Scenes
Life on the backstage.
Exclusive interview