Anna Markland (born 23 May 1964) is a British

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

who won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 1982, playing

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

’s Second

Piano Concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

and subsequently pursued a dual performing career as pianist and

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Education and early life

She studied at Chetham's School of Music (1974–1983) with

Heather Slade-Lipkin Heather Slade-Lipkin (9 March 1947 – 16 October 2017) was an English pianist, harpsichordist and teacher. Biography Slade-Lipkin was born into a musical family from Hoylake, Wirral. She began formal piano lessons before the age of six and ma ...

and achieved an

ARCM Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) is a diploma qualification of the Royal College of Music, equivalent to a university first degree. Like the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music diploma (LRAM), it was offered in teaching or perf ...

diploma at the age of 17. Two years later, in 1984, she won an instrumental scholarship to

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

where she studied for a BA Honours degree in Music while continuing her piano performance schedule, also singing with the choir or Worcester College and with

Schola Cantorum of Oxford Schola Cantorum of Oxford is the longest running chamber choir of University of Oxford, and one of the longest established and most widely known chamber choirs in the United Kingdom. The conductor is Steven Grahl. The choir was founded in 1960 ...

. This was followed by two years' postgraduate piano study with

Philip Fowke Philip Fowke (born 28 June 1950) is an English pianist. Biography Philip Francis Fowke studied at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) with Gordon Green, a pupil of Egon Petri. In 1974 he made his London debut with a recital at the Wigmore Hall (B ...

and vocal study with Kenneth Bowen at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

. Markland has featured in a long-term study of the lives of gifted children.

Career

Pianist

In 1982, Markland was the first female and pianist to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. This activated a career as a pianist primarily based in the UK and comprising solo recitals, concerto performances, accompaniment and masterclasses. She has performed with several British orchestras including the

BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, and the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

. She has accompanied vocalists including

Roderick Williams Roderick Gregory Coleman Williams OBE (born 1965) is a British baritone and composer. Biography Williams was born in North London to a Welsh father and a Jamaican mother. He attended Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford and Haberdashers' ...

, James Gilchrist, Paul Agnew, Nicholas Mulroy, Matthew Brook, and

Clare Wilkinson Clare Wilkinson (born in Manchester, England) is an English mezzo-soprano specialising in Baroque and Renaissance music. Her recent CD recordings are *''Mynstrelles with Straunge Sounds'' with the Rose Consort of Viols *''Anne Boleyn's Songboo ...

. She has also accompanied the vocal ensemble '' I Fagiolini''. Markland has run Masterclasses for schools, including at

Monkton Combe School (Thy Word is Truth) , established = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , founder = The Revd Francis Pocock , head_label = Head Master , head ...

near Bath in 1998.

Soprano

In 1986, while studying at Oxford, Markland became a founding member of the vocal ensemble ''I Fagiolini.'' She subsequently toured and recorded extensively with the group, which specialises in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

and has received a number of awards. She has also performed (as Anna Crookes) with

Tenebrae Tenebrae (—Latin for "darkness") is a religious service of Western Christianity held during the three days preceding Easter Day, and characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, and by a "strepitus" or "loud noise" taking place in total ...

(founding member), The Finzi Singers (founding member),

Britten Sinfonia Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the ...

Voices (founding member), The Sixteen, The Monteverdi Choir, The

Dunedin Consort Dunedin Consort is Scotland's leading baroque ensemble based in Edinburgh, Scotland, recognised for its vivid and insightful performances and recordings. Formed in 1995 and named after Din Eidyn, the ancient Brittonic Celtic name of Edinburgh Cast ...

, Trinity Baroque, Les Arts Florissants, La Grande Chapelle, The Scholars’ Baroque Ensemble, Pixels Ensemble and the BBC Singers.

Audio recordings

Radio and television

Markland appeared throughout the 1982 BBC Young Musician of the Year series and in subsequent years as an interviewed guest in 1984 and as a judge in 2010 for the keyboards category final. She was interviewed on

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

's ''Meridian'' shortly after winning the competition, she was the subject of a BBC documentary feature on past competition winners in 1984, twice again in 1986, and then in 1988. She presented a series of

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

’s ''Young Artists’ Forum'' highlights in 1995. She stars, as Anna Crookes, in

John La Bouchardière John La Bouchardière is a British opera, film and television director. Biography La Bouchardière was a chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford, studied at the University of Birmingham and was a staff director at English National Opera. He also spe ...

's 2007 film '' The Full Monteverdi''. On the subject of gifted children, she was interviewed on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

'' programme in September 2010 and in ''I was a Child Prodigy'' (2008). She has performed live on BBC Radio 3's '' In Tune'' in April 2016.

Filmography

References

External links

Winners of the BBC Young Musician of the Year
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markland, Anna 1964 births Living people British classical pianists British sopranos Women classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century English women musicians Musicians from Merseyside People from Wallasey People educated at Chetham's School of Music Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford Eurovision Young Musicians Finalists Decca Records artists Associates of the Royal College of Music 21st-century women pianists