MARTIN OWEN horn

New Martin Owen Release, May 2026


MOZART: FOUR HORN CONCERTOS, RONDO KV 371

with Manchester Camerata / Gábor Takács-Nagy

CHANDOS


CD UPC: 0095115237724


SPOTIFY PLAYER


All portrait photos by Davide Cerati

 
Owen's playing is a luxury for the ear          
THE SUNDAY TIMES, LONDON                   
Martin Owen brings a Dennis Brain-like poetry to his playing
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, LONDON

Martin Owen's horn playing is rich and expressive in the Serenade [BRITTEN], and he manages the haunting, swooping octaves with apparent ease.
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

Interstellar Call, the solo-horn movement [from Messiaen's Des Canyons Aux Etoiles] was made into a masterly tour de force by Owen. Prom 13: BBCSO/Oramo
THE GUARDIAN

Regarded as one of Europe’s leading horn players, Martin Owen appears as a soloist and chamber musician all around the world. He currently holds the position of principal horn at the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, and Haffner Wind Ensemble, having served as principal horn of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, on a temporary contract, as solo horn of the Berliner Philharmoniker. 

He has performed concertante works by Britten, Elliott Carter, Oliver Knussen, Messiaen, Mozart, Thea Musgrave, Schumann, Richard Strauss, and Weber with the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé, Britten Sinfonia, Aalborg Symfoniorkester, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, Ensemble Modern, Orquesta Nacional de España, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucharest, and New World Symphony, under conductors such as Jiří Bělohlávek, Martyn Brabbins, Edward Gardner, Oliver Knussen, Sir Roger Norrington, Sakari Oramo, David Robertson, Dalia Stasevska, Michael Tilson Thomas, and John Wilson. He has recorded concertos for many labels including Linn, RPO, Dutton, BBC, Signum Classics and Bridge records, and on Chandos records, following three critically acclaimed releases: Strauss, Schumann and Weber with the BBC Philharmonic (2023), trios by Brahms, Ligeti and Mozart (2024), and Ruth Gipps’s Horn Concerto also with the BBC Philharmonic (2025), Martin will record the Mozart Horn Concertos with Manchester Camerata/Gábor Takács-Nagy.

Martin Owen is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is Alfred Brain Professor of Horn, and is French horn tutor to the European Union Youth Orchestra. He has appeared on hundreds of film and television soundtracks, among them the Star Wars, Harry Potter, James Bond, and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises, as well as a plethora of Marvel movies! He lives in the Surrey Hills with his wife, Anna, a violinist.

RICHARD STRAUSS

Concerto No.1, Op.11 in E-Flat Major

Concerto No.2 in E-Flat Major

 

CARL MARIA VON WEBER

Concertino, Op.45 In E Minor

 

ROBERT SCHUMANN

Concertstück, Op.86 in F Major for Four Horns and Large Orchestra

 

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra / John Wilson


CHANDOS


Digital UPC: 095115216828

CD UPC: 095115216828

…this is a recording of distinction.


Recording of the Month - Recommended (Oct '23)


Peter J Rabinowitz Gramophone magazine



…there’s no greater tonic that the Schumann, and no better sonorities could be imagined; the recording captures them beautifully … It’s a sheer joy, with only superficial melancholy adding more colours. I’ll be playing that over and over again.


David Nice BBC Music magazine




News

Martin performs MOZART: Horn Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Manchester Camerata/Gábor Takács-Nagy on April 2nd at The Stoller Hall, Manchester and Nos. 3 and 4 on May 23rd 2025.

Martin performed STRAUSS: Horn Concerto No. 2 on October 25th and 27th 2024 with Orchestra Sinfonico di Milano conducted by Pablo González.

Martin performed STRAUSS: Horn Concerto No. 2 on 18th April 2024 with ORT - Orchestra della Toscana conducted by Erina Yashima.