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Martino Tirimo’s extensive discography consists of over 50 recordings and includes the piano concertos of Brahms (for EMI), Chopin (BMG/Regis), Rachmaninov (EMI), Tippett (Nimbus, with Tippett conducting), the complete works of Mozart (12 CDs, Regis), Debussy (Regis), all Janacek works (Quartz) and the first complete set of Schubert’s 21 Sonatas (8 CDs, EMI). His urtext edition of the Schubert Sonatas is published by Wiener Urtext in 3 Volumes, with his completions to the unfinished movements. For his Rachmaninov 2nd Concerto and Paganini Rhapsody, one of EMI’s best sellers, he received in 1995 a Gold Disc.
Tirimo was born into a musical family in Cyprus and as child prodigy appeared both as pianist and conductor, at 12 conducting La Traviata seven times with soloists from La Scala, Milano. At 13 the family moved to London and at 16 he won the Liszt Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, later completing his studies in Vienna. He came to world attention in 1971/72 when he won the international competitions in Munich and Geneva and has since appeared with all the major London and UK orchestras as well as the leading orchestras in Berlin, Cleveland, Dresden, Leipzig, Munich, Prague, Vienna and other centres, with conductors such as Barbirolli, Boult, Masur, Sanderling and Rattle. He has also directed from the keyboard several cycles of the Beethoven Concertos, with the Dresden Philharmonic, notably in Germany and at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
He has a repertoire of 70 Concertos and has given numerous series devoted to Beethoven’s 32 Sonatas, Schubert’s 21 Sonatas, Robert and Clara Schumann’s principal works, Chopin’s major works, as well as series of Mozart Concertos, directing the Prague Chamber Orchestra. In 2004 performances included concerts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and at the Athens Festival, during the Olympic period, with the Vienna Philharmonic.
As conductor he has frequently appeared with the Dresden Philharmonic as well as other orchestras such as the English Chamber, Prague Chamber and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. His compositions include the film score for “The Odyssey”, written for Channel 4 and screened also by other TV stations in Europe and USA. Among his TV appearances, memorable was his performance of the Tippett Piano Concerto which was transmitted live from Coventry Cathedral in celebration of the composer’s 90th birthday. Since 2002 he has also been more active in chamber music, touring extensively with his Trio, the Rosamunde Trio. In 2004 he had the honour to run with the Olympic torch, perhaps the first classical musician to do so.
The ‘Daily Telegraph’ has described him as ‘a pianist of vision’ and ‘an inspiring poet of the piano’. Recently Music and Vision declared that ‘Tirimo’s playing belongs to a past generation of ‘greats’. Listening to him I conjure up aural images of Solomon, Arrau, Kempff, Serkin, Schnabel, Backhaus and Rubinstein. Throughout the evening one was consistently aware that this supreme musician placed himself entirely at the service of the composer’.
In 2006 Tirimo celebrated Mozart’s 250th anniversary with a unique series of 8 concerts at London’s Cadogan Hall devoted to the composer’s entire piano music. He is currently recording, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the complete works of Beethoven.
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