Martin James Bartlett wins BBC young musician of the year

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/18/teenager-bbc-young-musician-of-the-year

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A teenager who began learning the piano at the age of six has been named as the winner of the BBC Young Musician 2014 after previously making it through to the final stages of the biannual event.

Martin James Bartlett, from Hornchurch in Essex, is currently studying for A levels in music and physics and has been awarded full scholarships to three London conservatoires.

He said after winning the award: "It's such an amazing feeling. It's not just the highlight of my musical career, it's the highlight of my life."

The 17-year-old, who regularly performs solo recitals, was named as the winner at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, where he and other finalists performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kirill Karabits in front of a live audience.

Martin, who performed Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, began learning the piano at the age of six and bassoon and recorder from the age of eight. By the time he was 12 he had achieved Grade 8 Distinction on all three.

Previously, he has been a prizewinner for several years running in the Jaques Samuel Intercollegiate Piano Competition, which has resulted in a series of Wigmore Hall solo performances.

At the age of 13, he won the Purcell School's Middle School Concerto Competition, performing Mozart's D minor Concerto K.466 with the Purcell Sinfonia. More recently, he has performed Mozart's C minor Piano Concerto K.491 with the Vanbrugh Ensemble and, earlier this month, also with Watford Symphony Orchestra.

The two other finalists at Sunday's event, which was broadcast on BBC Four, were percussionist Elliott Gaston-Ross, 15, and recorder-player Sophie Westbrooke, 15. The panel of judges consisted of composer James MacMillan, conductor Alice Farnham, pianist Alice Sara Ott, percussionist Colin Currie and recorder-player Michala Petri.

The event, which started in 1978, is regarded as the UK's leading contest for young classical musicians. Cellist Laura van der Heijden, 15, was awarded the title BBC Young Musician 2012, taking a place among former winners and finalists including Thomas Adès, Alison Balsom, Thomas Carroll, Natalie Clein, Michael Collins, Nicholas Daniel, Benjamin Grosvenor, Stephen Hough, Emma Johnson, Guy Johnston, Freddy Kempf, Leon McCawley, Lucy Parham, Jennifer Pike, Tom Poster, David Pyatt and Paul Watkins.

For the first time this year BBC Young Musician announced an Ambassadorial role for Nicola Benedetti, former winner and internationally acclaimed violinist.