Oliver Markson

Oliver Markson

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With  engagements in Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, Europe, Thailand and the United States, Oliver Markson is acclaimed internationally as a concert pianist, composer and lecturer. Recent performance highlights include collaborations with the Carlos Chávez Orchestra and the Querétaro Philharmonic Orchestra in Concerti by Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Beethoven; solo piano recitals at Steinway Hall and Bargemusic in New York, lecture recitals in the Shanghai Concert Hall and Yamaha Egg Hall; vocal recitals with sopranos Monica Harte, Nina Berman and Kristi Bryson; cello/piano recital tours with cellist Richard Markson in Mexico and violin/piano recital tours with Mayumi Fujikawa in England and Japan, leading to CD releases under the Japanese label Mittenwald. He has also held a piano duo with pianist Judy Pang for fifteen years.

 

As composer, Oliver Markson blends together his Japanese and European family roots by combining elements of Japanese traditional music, French impressionism and a British traditionalist conservatism. Japanese-inspired themes can be heard in piano works “Haiku” and “The Firebird” which were premiered in the Staller Center, New York. His song cycle on poems of Oscar Wilde “Impressions” received its US premiere in the Elebash Recital Hall, New York in 2016, and its UK premiere as part of the Scrutopia festival in the Cotswolds in 2019. His latest piano composition Octavio accompanies a children’s story written by Judy Pang as part of a larger video animation project. His “Hymn for String Orchestra” was a recipient of the Platinum Award from the Debussy International Music Competition 2024.

 

Born in London, Oliver Markson’s initial studies in piano and composition took place under the tutelage of Canadian pianist/composer Douglas Finch. In his undergraduate course at the Royal Academy of Music he studied with Tatiana Sarkissova in piano and Graham Williams in composition. During this period, he was awarded first prize in the European Piano Teacher’s Association (EPTA) competition. Since moving to New York in 2007, he completed a Masters course at the Manhattan School of Music studying with Marc Silverman, and a Doctoral course at the Graduate Center City University New York (CUNY) studying with Ursula Oppens and Gerald Robbins. His musical theory and philosophy-based dissertation “A Study of Nikolai Medtner's Compositional Technique: Form and Narrative in Tales” was supervised by musicologist Richard Kramer. In following the tradition of Medtner’s own performances, his final doctoral recital consisted entirely of Medtner songs and solo piano works. Extending from the philosophical portion of his dissertation, he has since lectured on the relationship between ‘subject matter’ and ‘content’. Having first been inspired to play the piano by works of Debussy, Oliver Markson furthered his devotion to this music in his studies with Bernard Flavigny, the distinguished protégé of Alfred Cortot and Olivier Messiaen.

 

During his almost twenty years living in New York City, Oliver Markson was Co-Artistic Director of the Tree of Light Concert Series in Long Island, and a faculty member at the Bronx Community College City University New York (CUNY) for eleven years. There he taught courses in music appreciation, history, theory, philosophy, as well as piano classes. Since relocating to London, he has taken up the position of Resident Organist at East Hampstead Parish, Church of St Michael and St Mary Magdalene, Bracknell, and Piano Teacher at Stoke Newington School. He is a regular judge in the Tokyo Piano Competition, in which he gives public piano masterclasses and speeches on the philosophy of music.