Maximiliano Martín

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

Martín 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 included Joan Enric Lluna, Richard Hosford and Robert Hill.

Since being appointed Principal Clarinet of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in 2002 and winning the Young Artists Platform Competition in the same year, Martín has made debuts at the Wigmore Hall London, Queen's Hall Edinburgh, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, St David's 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 Martín 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, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the City of Birmingham Symphony, Hallé, Orquesta de Cadaques, Bergen Philharmonic, Munich Kammerorkester, Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia, and worked with prestigious conductors such as Abbado, Haitink, Colin Davis, Mackerras, Marriner, Berglund, Lopez Cobos, Elder, Krivine and Litton. He has been a 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 to critical acclaim. In 2007 his performance of the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with SCO and André de Ridder was broadcast by BBC Radio 3. Martín 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, Martín gave 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 took part in the premiere of Rory Boyle's Quartet for clarinet, flute, bassoon and piano.

Martín is also active in the education field – he currently teaches at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 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 Martín is a Buffet Crampon Artist and plays with Buffet Tosca Clarinets.

www.maximilianomartin.com

What is your most memorable concert? (either playing or listening)

Mackerras, La Clemenza di Tito, Edinburgh Festival few years back.

What quote or saying do you most overuse?

Spectacular

What item can you not live without?

Phone

What’s on your iPod, or what do you listen to in the car?

Everything but not classical if I can avoid it.

Tea or coffee?

Coffee

In a Hollywood film of your life, who would play you?

Gladiator

If you had to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Difficult one, I like my food, maybe meat!

Photo © Ken Dundas