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.

The imaginative and thoughtfully curated repertoire chosen by Martin for this evening is not just a display of his pianistic mastery, but a deeply expressive voyage through different eras, cultures, and emotional landscapes—each piece a distinct voice, yet woven into a compelling and cohesive whole, and a sweeping exploration of the piano’s expressive potential, traversing over three centuries of music. 

It opens with Rameau’s Les Tendres Plaintes, a piece of refined delicacy that immediately draws the audience into an intimate, lyrical sound world. Scarlatti’s Sonata in D major, K. 119 (Les Oiseaux) follows in lively contrast, with its sparkling brilliance and playful mimicry of birdsong. Then the hypnotic charm of Couperin’s Les Barricades Mystérieuses, its gentle, flowing harmonies evoking a sense of mystery and elegance, and Byrd’s The Woods So Wild which transports listeners further back in time with its graceful variations on a traditional English tune. The first half of this concert ends on a dramatic shift and Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata with its famous Grave introduction and stormy first movement giving way to a lyrical Adagio and an energetic finale, highlighting the emotional depth of Beethoven’s writing. 

After the interval, Liszt’s Vallée d’Obermann and Au Bord d’une Source showcase the piano as both a poetic and virtuosic instrument, ranging from deep introspection to shimmering lightness. His transcription of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde intensifies this emotional journey, conveying the opera’s yearning and grandeur with remarkable intimacy. Debussy’s La soirée dans Grenade paints a sultry, atmospheric portrait of Spain, full of rhythmic nuance and exotic color. The evening concludes with Scriabin’s Sonata No. 4, Op. 30, a work of mystical lyricism and ecstatic climax, whose first movement’s dreamy introspection gives way to a sudden burst of brilliance in the second, ending the concert on a transcendent note.

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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.

PROGRAMME

Young Artist Spotlight
Petal Miller Philomela by Dorothy Pilling

Rameau Les Tendres Plaintes
Scarlatti D major, K. 119 ‘Les Oiseaux’
Couperin Les Barricades Mystérieuses
William Byrd The Woods So Wild
Beethoven Pathétique Sonata

Interval

Liszt Vallée d’Obermann
Liszt Au Bord d’une Source
Wagner/Liszt Tristan und Isolde
Debussy Estampes, no. 2 La soirée dans Grenade
Scriabin Sonata no. 4, Op. 30

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.