MANUEL BLANCO

General Management
Trumpet

Official website
Spanish Bio

Bio

Born in 1985 in Daimiel (Ciudad Real, Spain), Manuel Blanco began  his trumpet studies very early with Martin Baeza Rubio  and after with José Orti , and graduated with the highest honours in 2006. He is receiving musical advices from the international soloist Reinhold Friedrich, who still shares with Manuel’s previous professors a special focus upon both professional and personal preparation.

In  2006 he got the position as principal soloist at the “Orquesta Nacional de España” who is maintaining it till nowdays.

He began his career winning several Spanish and international music awards, such as Moixent, Calviá and Jeju (South-Korea), but he achieved international recognition upon winning the first prize in the prestigious ARD Music Competition in Munich 2011 (with the best history´s score), a prize only awarded to two trumpet players before Manuel Blanco, the first one was Maurice André in 1963.

He has worked as a principal trumpet with first-class orchestras, such as the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Gewandhaus (Leipzig), Orchestra Mozart (Bologna), Philarmonique de Radio France, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, European Youth Orchestra, Berlin Staatsoper, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra Teatro alla Scala Milán, Chicago Symphony Orchestra. among others.

He has perfomed under the baton  of renowed name such as Claudio Abbado, Mariss Jansons, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Lorin Maazel, Daniel Barenboim, Juanjo Mena, Andris Nelsons, Zubin Mehta, Gustavo Dudamel, Kent Nagano, Semyon Bychkov, Josep Pons, David Afkham, Jesús Lopez Cobos, Christoph Eschenbach, Pablo Heras-Casado, to name some of them.

As a soloist, he has played with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Nurberg Symphoniker, Orquesta  Sinfónica de Colombia, Czech Radio Orchestra, Budapest Chamber Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, London Concert Symphony Orchestra, Niederrheinische Sinfoniker, Orchester Würzburg, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Orquesta Santa Cecilia, North Czech Philharmonic in a tour of Asia, as well as with all the major Spanish Orchestras, getting  with all of them  hailing reviews.

Manuel Blanco’s interest in chamber music has brought him leading the Mediterranean Chamber Brass Quintet, winners of the first prize at the International Wind Ensemble Festival in Jeju (South Korea) and the International Brass Quintet Competition in the Lieska Brass Week (Finland), with them has performed worldwide.

In 2017 was released his first CD, Fearless, recorded by DECCA with the Spanish National Orchestra under the baton of Josep Pons. The national and international press, unanimously, praised the wide talent of Manuel Blanco and it is a demonstration of the wide repertoire he can play, from Haydn to Zimmerman.

Since 2018-2019 he is professor of the trumpet chair at the prestigious Reina Sofia Music School, and he is also professor at the Alfonso X el Sabio University as well as tutor of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester.

In 2020 he received another worldwide prestigious distinction, with the first special award at the Manhattan International Music Competition.

Future projects includes soloist engagements around the world with symphonic orchestras and several recitals, a commissioned work for him as well as the recording of his second album where it will be included the virtuoso work of Bolling Toot suite.

Manuel Blanco plays with B&S and J. Scherzer instruments.