The prestigious prize awarded annually by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 2023 has gone to the classical composer Eduardo Soutullo and the tocaor Juan Manuel Cañizares, an exponent of flamenco and new flamenco.
Juan Manuel Cañizares has just been awarded the 2023 National Music Prize for interpretation. The Ministry explains in a statement that it recognizes “the ability to combine different stylistic traditions in the guitar, breaking down barriers between classical music and flamenco.”
It is not the first award he has received throughout his career. It holds, for example, the National Guitar Award (1982) or Flamenco Hoy (2000, 2011 and 2013).
The endowment of this music prize is 30,000 euros.
An intense life “to the touch”
Cañizares was born in Sabadell in 1966 and his initial training was classical. It is andhe first and only flamenco guitarist invited by the Berliner Philharmoniker. With this institution he performed the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Second guitar of Paco de Lucía for years, he has also performed with Enrique Morente, Camarón de la Isla, Serrat, Alejandro Sanz, Peter Gabriel… In fact, his collaborations with artists and with the best orchestras in the world are present in more than 100 albums, in addition to the 15 he has solo.
Not only is he a big player: as a composer, Juan Manuel Cañizares has participated in works for the National Ballet of Spain (BNE) and film soundtracks, such as Flamenco (1996) and La Jota (2016) by Carlos Saura.
Highlight his third facet, but no less relevant, as a researcher and trainer. Since 2003, he has been a professor of flamenco guitar at the Escola Superior de Música de Cataluña (ESMUC). Congratulations!