Lionel Martin

“Sounds borne on the wings of Apollo that spread their arms wide, and whose beauty and spiritual depth are hard to believe,” is how the Südwest-Presse describes the playing of Tübingen-born cellist Lionel Martin (*2003). Anne-Sophie Mutter deems him to be “A wonderfully sensitive artist who reacts spontaneously and has great imagination.” With extraordinary charisma as a soloist and keenly sensitive chamber music playing, he is one of the most sought-after artists of his generation.

Martin’s most recent success was winning the Ton & Erklärung cello competition in Hanover in 2022. That same year, he was awarded the Bruno Frey Music Prize by the Landesakademie Ochsenhausen. Prior to this, upon being named winner of the Prix Young Artist of the Year at the Bad Wörishofen Festival of Nations in 2019, he performed Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme together with the Festival Orchestra. Further accolades include first prize at the Perusia Harmonica International Competition and achieving the maximum score at Germany’s national Jugend Musiziert competition on six occasions.

Lionel Martin was made a scholarship holder of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation in 2017, and has since performed regularly with Anne-Sophie Mutter in major concert halls across the world, including the Elbphilharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Wiener Concert-Verein, KKL Luzern, Teatro Colón and Carnegie Hall. In doing so, he has likewise shared the stage with Lambert Orkis, Daniel Müller-Schott and Daniel Hope.

Martin regularly performs as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the NDR Radiophilharmonie, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, SWR Symphonieorchester, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Heidelberg Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Schweiz, Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra and Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie.

Numerous recitals have taken him to the Lucerne Festival, Oberstdorfer Musiksommer, and Beethovenfest Bonn, among others. A variety of joint concerts performed with his brother, the pianist Demian Martin, have been broadcast by BR, hr, SWR, WDR and ARTE. The duo’s ability to spontaneously improvise on pieces suggested by the audience has garnered widespread media attention.

In 2021, Lionel Martin was selected for the “SWR2 New Talent” programme. This resulted in a series of interviews, recordings and concerts, including as a soloist with the SWR Symphonieorchester at Stuttgart’s Liederhalle during the summer of 2023. His contributions can be heard on radio stations both in Germany and abroad, and he was a featured musician in the 2022-23 Euroradio Top Young Performers Series established by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
Furthermore, SWR2 also produced Martin’s debut album, on which he joins forces with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the SWR Vokalensemble to interpret Tavener’s cello concerto “The Protecting Veil” as well as his “Svyati”. The CD was released in April 2023 on the SWRmusic label.

Lionel Martin began playing the cello aged five at Tübingen Music School with Joseph Hasten, who taught him for twelve years. He has been studying with Professor Thomas Grossenbacher at Zurich University of the Arts since 2020. Tuition from Lynn Harrell, Martti Rousi, Jens Peter Maintz, Jan Vogler and Yo-Yo Ma has likewise provided him with formative musical inspiration.

Since October 2024, Lionel Martin has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. His studies are funded by the Arpeggione Scholarship.