YCA Presents Martin James Bartlett

Above: British pianist Martin James Bartlett

Author: Oberon

Thursday February 24th, 2022 – Young Concert Artists presenting pianist Martin James Bartlett in recital at Merkin Hall.

Opening his refreshing and unique program with two Bach transcriptions, Mr. Bartlett immediately established himself as an engaging artist with his performance of the Busoni arrangement of Ich ruf du dir, Jesu Christ, BWV 639, wherein an air of mystery was created and the sustained to spellbinding effect. This was followed by Dame Myra Hess’s arrangement of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring in which the lyrical flow of the music was enhanced by Mr. Bartlett’s mastery of dynamics.

The lively animation of Rameau’s Suite in A-Minor, RCT 5/VII. Gavotte et six doubles, was played as a gallant invitation to the dance, with virtuosic spirit in the changing dance rhythms, and a grand finish. 

Haydn’s Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major; HOB. XVI:46 began life as a divertimento. Mr. Bartlett’s marvelous agility and sense of fun made the opening Allegro moderato a delight. The Adagio, commencing with a left-handed opening passage, is quite gentle, with some elegant little trills etched in. In the concluding Presto, Mr. Bartlett dazzled us with his virtuosity, whilst introducing sly subtleties along the way. By this point, the engaging young pianist had the audience in the palm of his hand.

Following the interval, Franz Liszt’s solo piano arrangement of the Liebestod from Wagner’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE was a wonderful treat, starved as I am for live performances of the music of the Master of Bayreuth. Mr. Bartlett played with great passion, and also great tenderness; again, his dynamic range put a personal mark on this sublime music.

Contemporary British composer Julian Anderson wrote She Hears to honor the memory of Imogen Holst. Ms. Holst was the daughter of Gustav Holst, and was a composer herself as well as an educator and writer; she was known for her uncanny gift for hearing music on a transcendental level. The Anderson work, and Mr. Bartlett’s playing of it, had a fascinating sense of introspection that seemed to captivate the audience.

Three Rachmaninoff gems came next. The first two were transcriptions by Earl Wild: both the melodious flow of Where Beauty Dwells and the rhapsodic qualities of the Vocalise, Op. 34, No.14, displayed Mr. Bartlett’s true affinity for the music of the Russian composer. The third Rachmaninoff work, Polka de W.R. was jaunty, and spiced with wry hesitations: music that played to the young pianist’s sense of humor…and his brilliant technique.

My ballet-loving companion and I were so pleased to hear Ravel’s La Valse as the concert’s closing work, our thoughts drifting back to the many performances of Balanchine’s haunting ballet of the same title that we have witnessed. From its rumbling start, and thru the moods of mystery and drama in which Ravel’s score abounds, we were drawn deeper and deeper into the music. By the final madness, Mr. Bartlett seemed possessed, his fingers sweeping the keyboard with fiery passion to summon the vision of dancing on the edge of a volcano.

The audience had clearly taken this personable and vastly talented young pianist to their hearts, and he responded to our avid applause with a silken rendition of Gershwin’s Embraceable You.

~ Oberon