Gramophone Magazine
April 2022
Editor's Choice

Martin James Bartlett (piano), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Joshua Weilerstein

Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Rachmaninov: Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14
Rachmaninov: How fair this spot, Op. 21 No. 7
Rachmaninov: Polka de V.R.
Gershwin: The Man I Love
Wild: 7 Virtuoso Etudes after Gershwin. No. 7, Fascinating Rhythm & No. 4, Embraceable You
Gershwin: I Got Rhythm (from Girl Crazy & An American in Paris)
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

Rhapsody is Martin James Bartlett’s second album for Warner Classics. It follows his ambitiously conceived debut recital, awarded five stars by The Times in a review which concluded, “Everything works to illuminate the music." BBC Music Magazine, citing “the current new golden age of young pianists” wrote of playing that “overflows with virtuosity, atmosphere and colour.”

Now, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Joshua Weilerstein, Bartlett has recorded two celebrated rhapsodies for piano and orchestra, both from the ‘art deco’ period of the 20th century: Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Completing the album are seven solo pieces by Gershwin and Rachmaninov – in the composers’ own versions or in arrangements by the American virtuoso Earl Wild.

The term ‘rhapsody’ suggests a certain freedom of expression. “This makes it a very visceral listening experience,” says Martin James Bartlett. “All these contrasting elements make the music very diverse in character … seemingly improvisatory and spontaneous.” When he played Rhapsody in Blue at the BBC Proms, The Daily Telegraph wrote that he “brought maximum feeling to the music and played with astonishing delicacy and punch.”