Martyn Brabbins
Not a celebrity conductor, Britain's prolific Martyn Brabbins has rediscovered a striking amount of neglected music and presented it in convincing performances. Early on, he made a significant mark through recordings of contemporary Scottish composers and as one of the main conductors involved in Hyperion's extensive Romantic Piano Concerto series.
A self-described late starter, Brabbins was born on April 13, 1959. He attended Goldsmith's College and played in brass bands but had little other performing experience before studying conducting with Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1986 to 1988. Upon his return to England, Brabbins won the 1988 Leeds Conductors Competition. His professional debut came that year as a last-minute substitute with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Within a few years, Brabbins had guest-conducted all the BBC orchestras and major and minor ensembles throughout England and Ireland. From 1994 to 2005, he was the associate conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and later added to his schedule the job of principal conductor of the contemporary music group Sinfonia 21. Brabbins expressed particular enthusiasm for "anything after Beethoven," especially such Russian composers as Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. He has also landed many opera engagements, mainly with England's lesser houses, conducting works ranging from Mozart standards to Bliss' The Olympians and Tchaikovsky's The Slippers.
Brabbins' debut recording came on Hyperion in 1994, on Vol. 7 of the Romantic Composers Series, backing pianist Marc-André Hamelin on a recording of music by Adolf Henselt and Charles-Valentin Alkan. In 1997, he conducted the first commercial recording of Korngold's Die Kathrin. Brabbins served as the artistic director of the Cheltenham Music Festival between 2005 to 2007. From 2009 to 2015, he was the principal guest conductor of DeFilharmonie (Royal Flanders Philharmonic) and was the chief conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic in Japan from 2012 to 2016. Brabbins was named the music director of the English National Opera in 2016, resigning his post there in 2023 in protest against budget cuts at the organization.
Brabbins has made more than 150 recordings for labels such as Chandos, NMC, and Deutsche Grammophon, along with Hyperion. His recorded efforts include a disc of Cyril Scott works with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (2004), Bax (2004), and Britten on Film (2009). He made numerous recordings with both the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the main BBC Philharmonic, often devoting his efforts to unfamiliar repertory from both Britain and continental Europe. His recording pace increased as the new century went on, and the year 2011 saw no fewer than eight Brabbins recordings. In 2020, he was heard on six releases, including a pair of Hyperion albums -- one offering music by Vaughan Williams, the other music by James MacMillan -- and a BIS album containing works by John Pickard. Brabbins paused only slightly during the COVID-19 pandemic, returning in 2023 with six recordings once again, one of them a performance of Charles Villiers Stanford's Requiem with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Brabbins has taught as a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music.
© James Reel & James Manheim /TiVo
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Better Angels
Emily Pailthorpe, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Champs Hill Records on 1 jul. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Œuvres orchestrales (Volume 2)
Howard Shelley, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Symfonische muziek - Released by Chandos on 1 apr. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
English Orchestral Songs: Finzi, Gurney, Stanford & Parry
Christopher Maltman, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 1 mrt. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3 - Scriabin: Piano Concerto in F Sharp Minor
Artur Pizarro, Martyn Brabbins, Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR
Klassiek - Released by Collins Classics on 9 nov. 1998
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Concerti II
GrauSchumacher Piano Duo, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by NEOS Music on 7 jan. 2014
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Stojowski: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 28)
Jonathan Plowright, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 1 feb. 2002
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Larry Goves: Just Stuff People Do
London Sinfonietta, Martyn Brabbins, André de Ridder
Klassiek - Released by NMC Recordings on 19 mei 2014
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glazunov & Goedicke: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 13)
Stephen Coombs, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 1 aug. 1996
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Volume 4
Paul Watkins, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Symfonische muziek - Released by Chandos on 1 feb. 2008
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brian: Symphony No. 1 "The Gothic Symphony"
BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, The BBC Concert Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 25 nov. 2011
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Musique pour saxophone et orchestre
Theodore Kerkezos, Philharmonia Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 5 okt. 2002
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James MacMillan: Raising Sparks; Piano Sonata
The Nash Ensemble, Jean Rigby, Martyn Brabbins, John York
Klassiek - Released by Decca (UMO) on 2 sep. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Erik Chisholm: Violin Concerto & Dance Suite
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 1 sep. 2017
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Korngold: Die Kathrin, Op. 28
The BBC Concert Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins, Unknown Artist
Opera - Released by CPO on 27 okt. 1998
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Joseph Holbrooke & Haydn Wood: Piano Concertos (Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto 23)
Hamish Milne, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 1 feb. 2000
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Poetry Nearing Silence
The Nash Ensemble, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by NMC Recordings on 25 okt. 2019
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Aho: Oboe Concerto - Solo IX - Oboe sonata
Piet Van Bockstal, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 jan. 2013
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Minna Keal: Cello Concerto & Ballade
Alexander Baillie, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by NMC Recordings on 1 sep. 1997
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John Woolrich: The Ghost in the Machine
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by NMC Recordings on 1 jun. 2001
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Walton: Violin Concerto, Partita & Hindemith Variations
Anthony Marwood, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 30 jun. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Warlock: The Curlew, Capriol, Serenade & Songs
John Mark Ainsley, The Nash Ensemble, Martyn Brabbins
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 1 okt. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo