Martin James Bartlett

Martin James Bartlett possesses a fearless technique and plays with a maturity and elegance far beyond his years. In 2022, he became the inaugural recipient of the Prix Serdang, a Swiss award curated by Rudolf Buchbinder to recognise a young pianist forging an international solo career. An exclusive recording artist with Warner Classics, Bartlett has earned consistent critical acclaim, with his albums receiving five-star reviews and top accolades. Praised by The Arts Desk for his performance as “frankly like watching another, superior, species,” Bartlett continues to affirm his place as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation.

The 2025/26 season sees Bartlett perform across the UK, USA, and Europe. He begins the season in the United States as soloist in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and later returns for recital appearances in Florida. In the UK, he performs with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras, and appears in recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall. He returns to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg for chamber music performances and reunites with long-time collaborator Jonathan Bloxham for a festival dedicated to Mozart and Prokofiev with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, following their recent Beethoven tour featuring the Emperor Concerto.

Recent highlights include debuts at the Lucerne and Moritzburg Festivals, a return to the Concertgebouw, and a two-week U.S. tour in April 2025 with solo engagements in Cincinnati and San Francisco. As a concerto soloist, Bartlett has toured the UK with Sinfonia of London under John Wilson, and across Europe with the LGT Young Soloists, performing Philip Glass’s Tirol Piano Concerto at major venues including the Berlin Konzerthaus and Vienna Musikverein. The tour culminated in a gala performance for the Prince and Princess of Liechtenstein in London.

He has given recitals at leading venues including the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Salle Cortot in Paris, and appeared at festivals including La Roque d’Anthéron, Grafenegg, Rheingau, Dresden, and the International Chopin Piano Festival. His US recital debut in 2022, presented by the Young Concert Artists Series, included performances in New York and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

An exclusive artist with Warner Classics, Bartlett has released three acclaimed albums on the label, with the next release in March 2026. La Danse (2024), featuring French baroque and impressionist repertoire, received five stars in The Times and was named Editor’s Choice in Gramophone. Rhapsody (2022), recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Joshua Weilerstein, pairs Rachmaninoff and Gershwin and received similar accolades from Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine. His debut, Love and Death (2019), was praised in The Times, The Guardian, and The Sunday Times.

Bartlett rose to prominence in 2014 as winner of BBC Young Musician of the Year, making his BBC Proms debut the following season with Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. He has since performed with all five BBC orchestras and at major national events including the National Service of Thanksgiving for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday, broadcast live from St Paul’s Cathedral.

He studied at the Royal College of Music with Professor Vanessa Latarche, graduating with top honours and later receiving the Queen Mother Rosebowl from HRH The Prince of Wales. From 2020–2022 he held the RCM Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship, during which time he made his play/direct conducting debut with the London Mozart Players. He now serves on the RCM faculty as Assistant Professor of Piano.

Other accolades include First Prize at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, Second Prize and the Audience Award at the Kissingen Piano Olympiad (2018) and victory at the 2020 global Virtu(al)oso competition hosted by Piano Cleveland.

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