Inaugural winner of the Prix Serdang, Martin James Bartlett possesses a fearless technique and plays with a maturity and elegance far beyond his years.

Bartlett is an exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics. In 2019, his debut recital album ‘Love and Death’, exploring these elemental themes, ranging from Bach to Prokofiev, received outstanding reviews in The Times, The Guardian, and The Sunday Times. Most recently Bartlett’s Rachmaninoff and Gershwin concerto album ‘Rhapsody’, recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Joshua Weilerstein, has been critically acclaimed by audiences and critics worldwide and received accolades including a Gramophone Editor’s Choice and a 5 star review in BBC Music Magazine.

Martin James Bartlett first came to public attention as the winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014. Since then, he has performed at the BBC Proms, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in ‘Classic FM Live’ at The Royal Albert Hall, with the Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Bernard Haitink, the BBC Scottish Symphony under Kirill Karabits and the Philharmonia Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall, recitals throughout the United Kingdom, and a performance at Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday thanksgiving service, which was broadcast live from St. Paul’s Cathedral. 

Martin is a  First Prize winner at the 2019 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and made his New York debut at Merkin Concert Hall and in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater. In addition, he performed recitals at the Harriman-Jewell Series and Hayden’s Ferry Chamber Music Series, and in the summer of 2020  won first prize in the first ever Virtu(al)oso Global Piano Competition for Artist Relief by Piano Cleveland.

Recent and future highlights include a summer 2023 tour with the European Union Youth Orchestra with Manfred Honeck in Balzano, Grafenegg, Berlin, and Hamburg and invitations from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Warsaw Philharmonic for the Ludwig Van Beethoven Easter Festival. Upcoming recitals include the International Chopin Piano Festival, Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Salle Cortot Paris, Dresden Music Festival, Stadtcasino Basel, Elbphilharmonie and the Wiener Konzerthaus.

Other significant performances include a sold-out recital in Japan at the Musashino Cultural Foundation and an appearance with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Martin made his recital debut in Paris for the Foundation Louis Vuitton.  As part of a Chinese State visit, he performed a private concert for the First Lady of China and other dignitaries. While attending the Verbier Festival Academy, Martin performed in public masterclasses with Sir Andras Schiff, Young Concert Artists alumnus Richard Goode, and Sergei Babayan. 

Martin received an undergraduate degree at the Royal College of Music in London where he studied with Vanessa Latarche, and is currently continuing his graduate studies there as a Foundation Scholar. He is a recipient of the Royal College of Music’s Queen Mother Rose Bowl, presented to him by Prince Charles.

Martin James Bartlett is managed in the UK, Europe, and Asia by Intermusica. 

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YCA represents pianist Martin James Bartlett for North & South American engagements. Please contact us for more information.