Joan Manén Planas was born on the 14th of March,1883, at Mercaders Street number 40 in Barcelona. His parents were Juan Manén Abellán and María Planas Ribas and he was the oldest of two children. His younger brother, Ángel, also dedicated himself to music and became the bassoonist of the Pau Casals Orchestra and the Barcelona Municipal Orchestra. Manén’s father was the manager of a textile company and a devoted amateur musician in his spare time, playing the piano and composing salon music.
As a child Manén only attended school for three months. His musical education was initiated by his father, who taught him music theory and piano before the age of four. He began studying violin with Vicente Negrevernis at the age of five but changed teachers after a few months and had two unknown instructors until the age of seven. Manén did not recall this initial part of his musical education with affection, due to the extravagant pedagogical approaches used by his teachers. However, he continued to study the piano during this time and his father taught him how to sight read large works, such as operas, and how to transcribe music. He immediately developed a great talent for reading music and showed great promise both on the violin and on the piano.
At the age of seven, Joan Manén began studying with the disciple of Delphin Alard, Clemente Ibarguren, who was the proponent of an elegant and natural violin technique that he passed on with perfection to his students. From here onwards, Manén’s progress on the violin accelerated so much that his father started planning public appearances for his son. In the summer of 1892 father and son travelled to Valencia to present their first programme and the very first concert took place at the Casino Nuevo in Castellón, where the child performed as a pianist and violinist under the name of "Juanito Manén". A few days later he gave four very successful concerts at the "Café de España" and the "Teatro Pizarro" in Valencia, performing among other works, "Adiós a la Alhambra" by Jesus de Monasterio, "Air varie" by Charles de Beriot, and "Ballade Polonaise" by Henri Vieuxtemps. A contemporary news article attested to Manén’s success: "It is indeed surprising to see at this age, the ease and poise with which he handles the bow, the intonation and clarity of the sound and the flawlessness of his mechanism, conditions that, well directed, will make the child artist a virtuoso "(“El Mercantil”, 7-7-1892, “Teatro Pizarro”).
At the age of nine Manén started studying harmony and composition with Frederic Balart and later with Joaquim Vehils. According to his own memoirs (Mis experiencas vol. I), Manén deemed these lessons useless since he was unable to assimilate or conform to what he saw as cold and uncompromising rules. During the same period, he gave benefit recitals in different Catalan towns, including one in Sabadell where he shared the stage with the guitarist Francisco Tárrega, who he highly admired.
In 1893, when Manén turned ten, his father decided to quit his job in order to dedicate himself exclusively to his son’s education. From that moment on he became his artistic, social and cultural tutor, as well as accompanying him on the piano during concerts. Following some recommendations, father and son set off for Madrid, determined to forge a musical career for the boy. In June 1893 they managed to get an audition with Princess Isabel of Borbón as well as with Queen María Cristina later on and during the evenings at the Royal Palace they also met the violinist and conductor Enrique Fernández Arbós. The Queen offered Manén her protection but Manén’s father, who was decided to try his luck in Lisbon instead, declined the offer. After auditioning, they manage to organise three quite successful concerts in the Portuguese capital, but, quickly having exhausted their options, ended up embarking on a long journey to Buenos Aires and a long tour through many countries on the American continent.