Martin Owen
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Martin Owen (born 22 September 1973) is one of Britain's leading horn players, currently holding the position of Principal horn with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Martin took up the horn at the age of 13, studying with James Diack at the Royal Academy of Music junior department. He continued his studies by winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music (1992-1996) under the professorship of Richard Watkins and later Pip Eastop.
In 1998, Martin joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 3rd horn, being promoted to Principal six months later, a position he retained for ten years. He then joined the BBC Symphony Orchestra in April 2008.
Martin Owen has played Principal horn with all the major London Orchestras, and many further afield, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. However, he has a varied solo career outside the orchestra and appears as soloist and chamber musician in some of the leading music festivals around the world. Martin is a regular performer at the Wigmore Hall, making his debut in 1997 with Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn & Strings alongside Philip Langridge and Guildhall Strings. Since then he has returned performing the same work with Toby Spence and the Scottish Ensemble. This last collaboration led to a recording for Linn records leading to Paul Driver of the Sunday Times citing "Owen's playing is a luxury for the ear"[1]. Other recent recordings include Mozart Horn Concerto No. 4 with the Royal Philharmonic (RPO Classics label), Schubert Octet (Wigmore Hall Live label, with Michael Collins, Roderick Elms 'Four Seasonal Nocturnes (Dutton label, with RPO), and Danzi Sinfonia Concertante with the Orquestra de Cadaques.
Recent performances include Schumann's Konzertstuck with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2007 Royal Albert Hall Proms, Britten's Serenade at the 2008 Bad Kissingen festival with the BBC Symphony, and the London premiere of the Elliott Carter Horn Concerto and the Barbican Centre, for the composers 100th birthday, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Oliver Knussen.
Martin is also a very busy studio musician, having played on many movies ranging from Star Wars and Gladiator to the latest James Bond releases.
Martin Owen was awarded a Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Music in 2006, where he is now Horn Professor (since 2008). Martin is also Horn Professor at Trinity College of Music, London.
References
- ^ Paul Driver, The Sunday Times 13 March 2005