Maximiliano Martín

Spanish clarinettist Maximiliano Martín is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most exciting and charismatic musicians of his generation.

Maximiliano was born in La Orotava (Tenerife) and studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Tenerife, Barcelona School of Music and later at the Royal College of Music in London where he held the prestigious Wilkins-Mackerras Scholarship, graduated with distinction and received the Frederick Thurston and Golden Jubilee Prizes. His teachers have included Joan Enric Lluna, Richard Hosford and Robert Hill.

After being appointed Principal Clarinet of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2002 and winning the Young Artists Platform Competition in the same year, Maxi has since made debuts at the Wigmore Hall London, Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, St Davids Hall Cardiff, Perth Concert Hall, St George’s Bristol, Brighton, Bedford, Newbury and East Neuk Festivals and overseas at the Tallin Festival, Palau de la Musica Catalana and Teatro Monumental in Madrid.

As a soloist Maxi has performed all the major concertos with orchestras such as the SCO, European Union Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife and Macedonian Philharmonic under the baton of Brüggen, Manze, Antonini, Swensen, McGegan, Canev, Grazioli, Markovic and de Ridder. In the field of chamber music he has enjoyed collaborations with London Winds, Hebrides Ensemble, Moonwinds Ensemble, London Conchord Ensemble, Doric String Quartet and with other artists such as Maurice Bourgue, Sergio Azzolini, Alexander Janiczek, Pekka Kuusisto, Artur Pizarro, Christian Zacharias, Paul Lewis, Joan Enric Lluna, Peter Hill, Richard Watkins, Scott Mitchell, Michael Collins, Alexander Melnikov, Paul Meyer, Juho Pohjonen, Caroline Widmann and Radovan Vlatković.

He has performed in the most important concert halls and international festivals (Vienna, Lucern, London, Salzburg, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rome, Berlin, Hannover, Cologne, Santander, Leeds, Miami, Madrid, Istanbul, Zurich and Paris) with orchestras such the London Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Orquesta de Cadaques, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Kammerorkester, Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, and worked with prestigious conductors like Abbado, Haitink, Colin Davis, Mackerras, Marriner, Berglund, Lopez Cobos, Elder, Krivine and Litton. He has been member of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester.

His debut album “Fantasia” and the recording of the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra were released by Linn Records with great critical acclaim. In October 2007 he performed the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with SCO and André de Ridder which was broadcast by BBC Radio 3. Maxi has recorded Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time with the Hebrides Ensemble, also for Linn Records, which was launched in May 2008 at the Wigmore Hall in London. His recording "Vibraciones del Alma" with pianist Scott Mitchell was released in June 2009 with great success.

Recently, Maxi played the European premiere of Michael Daugherty's Clarinet Concerto Brooklyn Bridge and the world premiere of Conversaciones, a piece written for him by the young Spanish composer Marcos Fernandez. At the end of 2009 he will play the premiere of Rory Boyle's Quartet for clarinet, flute, bassoon and piano.

Maximiliano is also active in the education field – he currently teaches at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and regularly gives master classes in Spain. He is one of the Artistic Directors of the Chamber Music Festival of La Villa de La Orotava, held every year in his home town.

Maximiliano Martin is a Buffet Crampon Artist and plays with Buffet Tosca Clarinets.

www.maximilianomartin.com

Photo © Ken Dundas