King Edward's Music

With an extraordinary career spanning over four decades, Martin Roscoe is unarguably one of the UK’s best loved pianists. Renowned for his versatility at the keyboard, Martin is equally at home in concerto, recital and chamber performances. In an ever more distinguished career, his enduring popularity and the respect in which he is universally held are built on a deeply thoughtful musicianship allied to an easy rapport with audiences and fellow musicians alike.

With a repertoire of over 100 concertos performed or recorded Martin works regularly with many of the UK’s leading orchestras, having especially close links with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Hallé, Manchester Camerata, Northern Chamber Orchestra and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, where he has had over ninety performances. Martin has worked with many eminent conductors, including performances with Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder and Christoph von Dohnányi.

An equally prolific recitalist, Martin has also performed regularly across Europe, the Far East, Australasia and South Africa. His chamber music partnerships include long-standing associations with Peter Donohoe, Tasmin Little and the Endellion and Maggini Quartets as well as more recent collaborations with such artists as Jennifer Pike, Ashley Wass, Matthew Trusler and the Brodsky and Vertavo Quartets. One of his most important chamber music collaborations has developed in recent years: the Cropper Welsh Roscoe Trio. Together the trio have performed many times across the UK, most notably with several series of concerts at London’s Kings Place.

Recent and future engagements include appearances with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Symphony Orchestra, as well as recital performances at the Bridgewater Hall (where Martin is an Associate Artist), Kings Place, Musée d’Orsay, Wigmore Hall and Festival of the Sound, Parry. Martin is also Artistic Director of Ribble Valley International Piano Week, and Beverley Chamber Music Festival, and will succeed Kathy Stott as Artistic Director of the Manchester Chamber Music Society at the start of the 2014/15 season.

Having had over 500 broadcasts, including seven BBC Prom appearances, Martin is one of the most regularly played pianists on BBC Radio 3. Martin has also made many commercial recordings for labels such as Hyperion, Chandos and Naxos. He has recorded the complete piano music of Nielsen and Szymanowski, as well as four discs in the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto series. Martin is in the process of recording the complete Beethoven piano sonatas for the Deux-Elles label. The first three discs have been released to unanimous critical acclaim. The Independent described the sonatas as being “all delivered with Roscoe’s typically scrupulous attention to detail and emotional truth”. The second disc includes the Waldstein Sonata, and was proclaimed on BBC Radio 3 as “one of the truly great recordings of the Waldstein Sonata” … “perfect musical judgement and a formidable technique from Martin Roscoe”.

Teaching has always been an important part of Martin’s life and the development of young talent helps him to constantly re-examine and re-evaluate his own playing. He is currently a Professor of Piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London and has just been awarded his Fellowship there.

Martin lives in the beautiful English Lake District. Being in this wonderful place provides inspiration and relaxation, and also enables him to indulge his passions for the countryside and hill-walking.