Ralph Manno, born in 1964 in Brühl, is a German clarinetist and educator. He studied at the Cologne University of Music and in Berlin as a scholarship recipient of the Herbert von Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic and the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. At 23, he became principal clarinetist of the WDR Cologne Symphony Orchestra before joining the Munich Philharmonic under Sergiu Celibidache. In 1988, he co-founded the ensemble Incanto, and in 1992, he was a laureate of the German Music Competition. Appointed professor of clarinet at the Cologne Conservatory at age 29, he has released numerous recordings, including works by Olivier Messiaen, Johannes Brahms, and Ludwig van Beethoven, primarily on the Arte Nova label.
