Martin Jones
Encyclopedia
Martin Jones is an English
concert pianist
. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music
in London
under Guido Agosti
, Guy Jonson
, and Gordon Green. He has been highly regarded since debuting in the international arena when he won the Dame Myra Hess award in 1968.
in 1968. His New York debut was at Carnegie Hall
, also in 1968. Jones has performed with various orchestras throughout the world, including the London Festival Orchestra
, the Halle Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
, and the BBC Welsh Orchestra. Besides many standard concertos, he has played the Ferruccio Busoni concerto
and the Samuel Barber concerto
, as well as concertos by William Mathias
, John McCabe
, Constant Lambert
, and Xaver Scharwenka
. He toured Canada with the BBC Welsh Orchestra and has given recitals in Florida, Tennessee, and California, a Brahms recital at Wigmore Hall
in 1993, and radio broadcasts in Britain, Irleand, and the United States. He was pianist-in-residence at University College, Cardiff, from 1971 to 1983.
, performing Percy Grainger
's Bridal Lullaby and Mock Morris. The score was by Richard Robbins.
label. Recordings include:
Jones also made recordings that were issued on LP
:
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
concert pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
under Guido Agosti
Guido Agosti
Guido Agosti was an Italian pianist and piano teacher.Agosti was born in Forlì in 1901. He studied piano with Ferruccio Busoni, Bruno Mugellini and Filippo Ivaldi, earning his diploma at age 13. He studied counterpoint under Benvenuti and literature at Bologna University. He commenced his...
, Guy Jonson
Guy Jonson
Guy Jonson was an English classical Pianist and distinguished music teacher.He was born Stanley Guy Jonson at Finchley, north London, the son of an auctioneer...
, and Gordon Green. He has been highly regarded since debuting in the international arena when he won the Dame Myra Hess award in 1968.
Career
His London debut was at the Queen Elizabeth HallQueen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
in 1968. His New York debut was at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, also in 1968. Jones has performed with various orchestras throughout the world, including the London Festival Orchestra
London Festival Orchestra
The London Festival Orchestra was established in the 1950s as the 'house orchestra' for Decca Records. In 1980 it was incorporated as an independent performing orchestra under Ross Pople....
, the Halle Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...
, and the BBC Welsh Orchestra. Besides many standard concertos, he has played the Ferruccio Busoni concerto
Piano Concerto (Busoni)
The Piano Concerto in C major, Op. 39 , by Ferruccio Busoni, is one of the largest works ever written in this particular genre. The concerto is in five movements, the last of which also utilizes a male chorus singing words from the final scene of the verse drama Aladdin by Adam Oehlenschläger.The...
and the Samuel Barber concerto
Piano Concerto (Barber)
The Piano Concerto, Op. 38, by Samuel Barber was commissioned by the music publishing company G. Schirmer in honor of the hundredth anniversary of their founding...
, as well as concertos by William Mathias
William Mathias
William Mathias CBE was a Welsh composer.-Brief biography:Mathias was born in Whitland, Carmarthenshire. A child prodigy, he started playing the piano at the age of three and composing at the age of five. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music under Lennox Berkeley, where he was elected a fellow...
, John McCabe
John McCabe
John McCabe may refer to:*John McCabe , British composer and classical pianist*John McCabe , Shakespearean scholar and biographer*John McCabe , author and geneticist...
, Constant Lambert
Constant Lambert
Leonard Constant Lambert was a British composer and conductor.-Early life:Lambert, the son of Russian-born Australian painter George Lambert, was educated at Christ's Hospital and the Royal College of Music...
, and Xaver Scharwenka
Xaver Scharwenka
Franz Xaver Scharwenka was a German pianist, composer and teacher. He was the brother of Philipp Scharwenka , who was also a composer and teacher of music.- Life and career :...
. He toured Canada with the BBC Welsh Orchestra and has given recitals in Florida, Tennessee, and California, a Brahms recital at Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
in 1993, and radio broadcasts in Britain, Irleand, and the United States. He was pianist-in-residence at University College, Cardiff, from 1971 to 1983.
Film score
Jones performed the piano part in the Oscar-nominated soundtrack to Howards EndHowards End (film)
Howards End is a 1992 film based upon the novel of the same title by E. M. Forster , a story of class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century England...
, performing Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
's Bridal Lullaby and Mock Morris. The score was by Richard Robbins.
Recordings
Jones is a prolific recording artist on the Nimbus RecordsNimbus Records
Nimbus Records is a British record company specializing in classical music recordings.Nimbus was founded in 1972 by the late bass singer Numa Labinsky and the brothers Michael and Gerald Reynolds and has traditionally been based at the Wyastone Leys mansion site, near Monmouth and the English/Welsh...
label. Recordings include:
- Karol Szymanowski: Complete Piano Music (Nimbus)
- Percy Grainger "Dished up for piano": Complete Piano Music (Nimbus)
- Mendelssohn: Complete Piano Music (Nimbus)
- Debussy: Complete Piano Music (Nimbus)
- Brahms: Complete Piano Music (Nimbus)
- Shostakovich: Piano Concertos & Chamber Symphony (Nimbus)
- Finzi, Parry, Bridge: An English Suite (Nimbus)
- Szymanowski: Complete Piano Music Volume 1 (Nimbus)
- Szymanowski: Complete Piano Music Volume 2 (Nimbus)
- Spirit of England II (Nimbus)
- Igor Stravinsky: Piano Music (Nimbus)
- Spanish Piano Music (Nimbus)
- Meditations at Sunset: Finzi, Haydn, Elgar, J. C. Bach, Respighi, Bartok (Nimbus)
- Debussy: Clair de Lune and other Piano Favourites (Nimbus)
- Percy Grainger: Piano Favourites (Nimbus)
Jones also made recordings that were issued on LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
:
- Ferruccio Busoni: ElegiesElegies (Busoni)Elegies by the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni is a set of solo piano pieces which can be played as a cycle or separately. Initially published in 1908 with six pieces, it was subsequently expanded to seven by the addition of the Berceuse...
(ArgoArgo Records (UK)Argo Records was a record label founded in 1951 by Harley Usill , and musicologist Cyril Clarke with £500 capital, initially as a company specialising in "British music played by British artists" , but it quickly became a company primarily specialising in spoken-word recordings and other esoteric ...
LP ZRG 741; released 1973)- Note: Adrian Corleonis of FanfareFanfare MagazineFanfare is a magazine devoted to reviewing classical music performance and recordings.Fanfare's contributors have a range of expertise from the medieval to contemporary work...
ranked this recording as one of the very finest of the Elegies, saying that it strikes "the ideal balance between atmosphere and crackle...."
- Note: Adrian Corleonis of Fanfare