Plays with a maturity and elegance far beyond his years

British pianist Martin James Bartlett, known for his fearless technique, was the inaugural recipient of the Prix Serdang in 2022. In 2021, he was awarded the Queen Mother Rosebowl by HRH Prince (now King) Charles and, in 2020, won the Virtu(al)oso Global Piano Competition by Piano Cleveland. From 2020 to 2022, Bartlett was the RCM Benjamin Britten Piano Fellow, and made his play-direct and conducting debut with the London Mozart Players at the Cheltenham and Ryedale festivals in 2022. In 2019, Bartlett earned first place at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York and, in 2018, won second prize and the Audience Award at the Kissingen Piano Olympiad.

Bartlett’s early public success was as winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2014, leading to engagements with several orchestras. In 2015, he was one of the youngest-ever soloists to debut at the BBC Proms, with reviews in The Daily Telegraph and The Times praising his musical insight and maturity.

Bartlett has performed with many European orchestras and in recital internationally, including a debut US tour in 2022 in the Young Concert Artists Series in New York and at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. He has released two widely acclaimed albums: Rhapsody (2022), featuring concerti by Rachmaninoff and Gershwin; and his debut recital album Love and Death (2019), an exploration of elemental themes from Bach to Prokofiev.