Biography
Pianist Martin James Bartlett had already secured major awards and performed alongside orchestras throughout Britain before reaching his early twenties. Several prominent opportunities accelerated his visibility, among them his victory in the 2014 BBC Young Musician of the Year contest.
Born on July 20, 1996, in Hornchurch in suburban London, Bartlett began piano studies at the age of six and later added the bassoon and recorder to his training. He joined the Purcell School for Young Musicians in Bushey in 2010, where his advancement proved swift. After reaching the finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2012, he claimed the title two years later. That autumn he contributed to the charity single “God Only Knows,” produced for BBC Children in Need alongside violinist Nicola Benedetti and pop stars Stevie Wonder and Elton John; the recording was viewed online by roughly eleven million people. His first appearance at the BBC Proms came in 2015, placing him among the youngest musicians ever featured there. Additional honors followed, including second prize at the 2016 Kissinger Klavierolymp in Germany. The same year he performed during Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th-birthday thanksgiving service, and in 2019 he was awarded the Queen Mother Rosebowl by Prince Charles.
Also in 2019, while still pursuing a master’s degree at the Royal College of Music under Vanessa Latarche, Bartlett signed with Warner Classics and issued the album Love and Death. His growing profile led to an invitation to the London Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 party honoring the city’s rising young influencers. He has appeared as soloist with several leading British orchestras, performed repeatedly with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and presented a recital in Paris under the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Bartlett returned to Warner Classics in 2022 with the album Rhapsody: Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and was featured that year on composer Philip Glass’s Orange Mountain Music label, performing the Tirol Concerto for piano and strings with the LGT Young Soloists.
Born on July 20, 1996, in Hornchurch in suburban London, Bartlett began piano studies at the age of six and later added the bassoon and recorder to his training. He joined the Purcell School for Young Musicians in Bushey in 2010, where his advancement proved swift. After reaching the finals of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2012, he claimed the title two years later. That autumn he contributed to the charity single “God Only Knows,” produced for BBC Children in Need alongside violinist Nicola Benedetti and pop stars Stevie Wonder and Elton John; the recording was viewed online by roughly eleven million people. His first appearance at the BBC Proms came in 2015, placing him among the youngest musicians ever featured there. Additional honors followed, including second prize at the 2016 Kissinger Klavierolymp in Germany. The same year he performed during Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th-birthday thanksgiving service, and in 2019 he was awarded the Queen Mother Rosebowl by Prince Charles.
Also in 2019, while still pursuing a master’s degree at the Royal College of Music under Vanessa Latarche, Bartlett signed with Warner Classics and issued the album Love and Death. His growing profile led to an invitation to the London Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 party honoring the city’s rising young influencers. He has appeared as soloist with several leading British orchestras, performed repeatedly with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and presented a recital in Paris under the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Bartlett returned to Warner Classics in 2022 with the album Rhapsody: Rachmaninoff, Gershwin and was featured that year on composer Philip Glass’s Orange Mountain Music label, performing the Tirol Concerto for piano and strings with the LGT Young Soloists.
Albums
Singles
Brahms: Intermezzo in A Major, Op. 118 No. 2
2025
La Danse - Hahn: Le ruban dénoué: No. 2, Les soirs d'Albi
2024
La Danse - Debussy: 2 Arabesques, CD 74, L. 66: No. 1,
2023
La Danse - Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
2023
Rhapsody - Rachmaninoff: Polka de W. R.
2022
Rhapsody - Gershwin Songbook: No. 5, I Got Rhythm
2022
Rhapsody - Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes After Gershwin: No. 4, Embraceable You
2022