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France
Classical pianist Michel Mañanes
begins his musical education at the age of six in the
Conservatoire de Musique in Fontainebleau, France. With
brilliant results (honor roll in all his clases) he is provided with the
opportunity to participate, at an early age, in various classical music
concerts organized by the Conservatory. Trained by the great teacher
Gisele Lambert, he wins First Prize in various contests on
interpretation, such as, the "Lucien Wurmer", the "Leopold Bellan" and the
"Artistique" contest.
Barely 14 years old, he becomes a
pupil to Madame Genevieve Jacques-Dupont, at the Conservatoire
National de Troyes, finishing his musical education with
First Place
Honors.
Spain
Mañanes returns to Spain to enter the Official
Conservatory of Santander with Profesor Don Manuel Valcarcel where he wins
First Prize in the Seventh Annual "Concurso Provincial Jesus de
Monasterio", First Prize at the Eighth Annual "Concurso Manuel Valcarcel"
in 1980, and First Prize in the category of Spanish Music
"Concurso Manuel Valcarcel" in 1981.
With a four year
scholarship founded through the "Botin Foundation" of
Santander, he enters the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid,
under the tutelage of pianist Joaquin Soriano. During his
stay in Madrid, Michel perfects other musical material including Harmony,
Chamber Music, Teaching, Analytical Forms, among others. He graduates from
his superior studies with maximum qualifications at the top of his
class.
Austria
He receives a full
scholarship through the Ministry of External Affairs of
Austria, to enter the "Hochschule für Musik" of Vienna
with profesors Hans Graf, Carmen Graf-Adnet and Cristina
Karajeva. Michel at this point, is under the direct tutelage of Oleg
Maisenberg; offering excellent recitals in various concert halls around
the city and participating in international interpretation contests. In
1987 he is awarded the Diploma of the Hochschule fur
Musik.
Present
Day
After his magnificent participation in
Vienna in the "Neujarhskonzert", he returns to Spain to
start intense teaching sessions while offering recitals in various points
around the country. A number of his students have started stupendous
musical careers; for which Mañanes has acquired fame as an
excellent teacher.
Always involved and concerned with
children and teenagers; he created the "Asociación de Juventudes
Musicales de Santander" to which he is
President. This lead to his involvement as a musical critic
within the media, when in 1997 Michel Mañanes participates in the First
Convention of Musical Critics of Spain in Segovia under the
invitation of the "Fundacion Juan de Borbon".
His concerts
generate great interest, stupendous reviews and are very well accepted by
the audience. His latest concerts in Madrid (Auditorio
Conde-Duque), in Rome (Spanish Embassy), in Nice
(Mediterranean University), Varsovia and
London have been organized by the Cervantes Institute.
With extraordinary results, Michel has been praised for his
Central European mastery of the art, his subtle imitative sound,
and for his cutting edge versions of Spanish Classical pieces. The
critics, always enthusiastic, define his interpretations as
rigorous, elegant, always convincing; worthy of the best
interpretative style that in many ways exemplifies his unusual capacity to
communicate; to move you without ever losing the purest of
fidelities to the musical styles.
Currently living in
Santander, Spain, Michel regularly plays with Orchestras and as a
solist. He teaches music and continues his work as a music
critic, while maintaining his work schedule as a dedicated classical
concert pianist.
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