Born in Madrid, María Martínez has spent the majority of her career in European countries
and the USA. After studying at Trinity College London and the
Musikhochschule in Cologne, Germany, she completed her training at
Indiana University, USA, with Janos Starker, serving as an associate instructor in his department. She
later continued her studies with Colin Carr, becoming his assistant at
Stony Brook University in New York. Simultaneously, she trained in the field of
historically informed performance with Phoebe Carrai, Bruno
Cocset, and Anner Bylsma.
She is the regular cellist for the ensemble Tiento Nuovo & Ignacio Prego, with whom
she recently received a DIAPASON D’OR for their latest recording. She also
supports groups such as Música Boscareccia & Andoni Mercero, the Salamanca Baroque
Orchestra, and La Spagna.
María has performed in festivals such as the Scottish Cello Festival, the
Cheltenham Music Festival, Saint Martin-in-the-Fields in London, Blackheath Halls,
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the CNDM Series – National Music
Auditorium in Madrid, the Musika-Musica festival – Euskalduna Palace, the
Juan March Foundation, etc.
She has shared the stage with artists and ensembles such as Yo-Yo Ma, the Emerson String
Quartet, Steven Isserlis, Maurice Steger, and Cecilia Bercovich, and has performed under the baton of
conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Clifford Colnot, Juanjo Mena, Jaap van Zweden, Harry
Bicket, and Pablo Heras-Casado, leading the cello section of orchestras such as
the Navarra Symphony Orchestra and the ORCAM, among others. She was a member of the Civic
Orchestra (the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) and has given recitals and
concerts as a soloist on tour throughout China, Europe, and the United States.
She is a cello professor at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Madrid and
has previously taught at the Katarina Gurska Higher Center.