Paco Montalvo

Paco Montalvo, born on 19 November 1992 in Córdoba, Spain, is regarded as the creator of the flamenco violin as a leading solo voice — an approach that liberates the instrument from its traditional accompanying role. He began studying violin with his father at age five and was performing at orchestral level by the age of twelve. At 18, he made his debut at the main hall of Carnegie Hall in New York with Paganini's First Violin Concerto, becoming the youngest violinist to achieve a 21st-century debut at that venue. His first album, "Alma del Violín Flamenco" (2015), roots the violin firmly in traditional flamenco palos; the follow-up "Corazón Flamenco" (2017) became a bestseller immediately upon release and broadened his palette to include bolero, tango, pop, and tributes to Camarón and Paco de Lucía. A third album, "Leyenda", followed in 2020. Montalvo has performed at the Santa Lucía Festival in Mexico before 18,000 people, at the Roman amphitheatre in Arles before 15,000 and at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. With over 900,000 social media followers and more than 35 million video views, he is the world's most-followed flamenco violinist.