Martin James Bartlett: Piano Recital

Part of the Roman River Festival 2025 - See all concerts here.

Pianist Martin James Bartlett's natural fluency and grace wowed our audience during Roman River Festival in 2022. His artistry is marked by a maturity beyond his years and an ability to convey profound musical narratives; since then, he has been much celebrated internationally for his expressive performances and technical prowess, so we are delighted - and somewhat amazed! - to have been able to lure him back to our corner of coastal Essex. 

Lauded by The Times for his "unaffected delicacy of touch, colour and tone",  his Bach-Busoni and Bach-Hess arrangements described by International Piano magazine as "poised and finely graded," and called a "thoughtful, poetic soul" by Presto Magazine, his early public success was as the winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014. This led to engagements with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Ulster Orchestra. In 2015,  he made his BBC Proms debut, performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the following year, he performed at Her late Majesty The Queen's 90th Birthday thanksgiving service, which was broadcast live on BBC One from St. Paul's Cathedral. In 2022, when still only 25 years old, Martin was the inaugural winner of the Prix Serdang, which is awarded by a panel of international promoters, festival directors, trusted conductors and soloists to a promising young pianist in recognition of their achievements while forging an international solo career.

Martin's beautifully curated recital showcases a wide spectrum of piano music, tracing an arc from the refined Baroque to the lush Romantic and early 20th-century soundworlds. It opens with Couperin’s Les Barricades mystérieuses, a mesmerising rondeau rich in ornamentation and rhythmic subtlety, followed by Rameau’s Les Tendres Plaintes, evoking delicacy and grace. Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata then provides a dramatic shift in mood, with its bold contrasts, lyrical slow movement, and tempestuous finale, capturing the emotional depth of the Classical era on the cusp of Romanticism.

After the interval, the music turns toward atmosphere and colour. Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte offers a gently nostalgic reverie, while Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 and La soirée dans Grenade from Estampes explore shimmering textures and exotic harmonies. Liszt’s transcription of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde distils the opera’s yearning passion into a powerful pianistic drama. Granados’s El amor y la Muerte (“Love and Death”), from his piano suite Goyescas, reflects the intense drama of the paintings and etchings of Francisco Goya. Composed in 1911, the suite draws on the spirit of 18th-century Spain, blending traditional Spanish melodies and rhythms with impressionistic harmonies. The programme concludes with Alfred Grünfeld’s Soirée de Vienne, a witty, virtuosic tribute to the waltzes of Johann Strauss. 

The concert will open with a young artist spotlight by 9 year old Petal Miller, winner of the Colchester Rotary Club Music Festival award for Young Musician of the Year. Petal learns piano at home, taught by her mother, Chi.

PROGRAMME

Young Artist Spotlight: Petal Miller Spritoso (First movement from Sonatina in C, Op.36 No3) by Muzio Clementi

Couperin Les Barricades Mystérieuses
Rameau Les Tendres Plaintes
Beethoven 'Pathétique' Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor

Interval

Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte
Debussy Arabesque no. 1
Debussy Estampes, no. 2 La soirée dans Grenade
Wagner arr.Liszt Isolde's Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Granados Goyescas Book 2, No. 5 - El amor y la Muerte
Alfred Grünfeld - Soirée de Vienne

Duration: approx. 1 hour 45 mins (incl. 20-minute interval)

Planning: Doors open from 7.15 for 8pm start. Please allow ample time for parking. 

Tickets £20 – £40 (£15 for under 30s)

Reduced visibility seats available.

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Celebrating 25 Years of Artists-in-Residence
Over the past quarter century Roman River Music has invited many highly recognised local artists to be part of the festival. Their work has been both incorporated into the stage sets for concerts and on the cover of our programmes. This year, rather than invite a new one to join this illustrious roster, we are looking back to fête all of those who have been so wonderfully part of Roman River Festival. At each of the larger concerts this year, the work of a particular artist will be on display and sale, and the artist themself will be there to discuss their work.

At this concert, the large painting on display is by Mersea artist, Jennie Mace, who has generously sponsored this concert in memory of her sister, Sheila. Initially trained and worked as a Medical Scientist in the School of Pathology at The Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London. However, her true passion lay in art, leading her to study at the Colchester School of Art. She went on to receive further guidance from respected artists including David Mynett, Sir Edward Fairfax-Lucy, the late John Miller, Jeremy Le Grice, and Roger Dellar. Jennie’s paintings are now held in private collections across the world—in countries such as Spain, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA. Her work has travelled widely, with one piece reportedly journeying the globe aboard a yacht, and another resting at the bottom of the Mediterranean.

Jennie will be at the concert and happy to talk about her work.