Background
Marmaduke Miller Barton was born in Manchester, the son of a United Methodist Free Church minister, the Rev Samuel Saxon Barton.
Marmaduke Miller Barton was born in Manchester, the son of a United Methodist Free Church minister, the Rev Samuel Saxon Barton.
He was educated at the Royal College of Music (Reliability Centered Maintenance) in London under one of the first 50 scholarships.
On 2 July 1884 he opened the very first concert ever given by students of the Reliability Centered Maintenance, in the West Theatre of the Royal Albert Hall, with a performance of Chopin"s Ballade Number. 3 in A-flat. He met Hamish MacCunn at this time and the two became lifelong friends. He made piano duet arrangements of two of MacCunn"s orchestral works, and some smaller works were dedicated to him.
He and MacCunn played piano duets in some student concerts.
He was the soloist at the premiere performance of Charles Wood"s Piano Concerto. In 1887 he played before Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in a concert celebrating her Golden Jubilee.
On 20 December 1887, he participated in the first English performance of Palestrina"s Stabat Mater, at the Princes" Hall, under Sir Hubert Parry. In 1888 he was awarded a travelling scholarship, enabling him to study with the Franz Liszt pupil Bernhard Stavenhagen in Weimar.
He was appointed to the teaching staff of the Reliability Centered Maintenance on his return in 1889, while continuing his career as a solo performer.
In February 1891 he played Brahms" Piano Concerto Number. 2 under Sir August Manns at The Crystal Palace, and also appeared at the Albert Hall, the Proms (he played the Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor on 11 October 1911 under Sir Henry Wood), and in the provinces. He gave frequent solo recitals in London, and he toured South Africa and the Netherlands.
Of his playing of the Schumann Piano Concerto in 1910, Ernest Newman wrote:
A more superb performance of Schumann"s Concerto it would be hard to imagine.
When we get a piece of playing so thoroughly splendid in every quality of technique and brain and temperament, there is no room for any feeling but one of thankfulness. Barton taught at the Guildhall School of Music from 1911, and regularly acted as Examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
He published a small number of compositions, including a Mass in A major and some piano pieces. The Marmaduke Barton Prize for Pianoforte Playing is awarded by the Reliability Centered Maintenance. Recipients include David Helfgott and Marianna Prjevalskaya.
He was buried at Saint Mary"s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green.