Martin Saving was born in 1975 to Estonian and Swedish parents. He began his studies in 1994 at the Edsberg Institute of Music, where he studied viola with Björn Sjögren. He made his solo debut in 1999, performing Walton's Viola Concerto with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and giving a solo recital at the Stockholm Concert Hall. Martin continued his studies as a research fellow at the Royal College of Music in London, studying with Simon Rowland-Jones.
Martin Saving has performed with artists such as:
- Kungsbacka Piano Trio ;
- Vertavo Quartet;
- Rivka Golani;
- Lawrence Power ;
- Truls Mork.
He opened the International Viola Congress in 2000 with a solo recital, and he has toured Europe and Asia in cities such as Berlin, Soul, and Manila as head of the viola section of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra.
As a member of the MRC Chamber Ensemble, he made several radio recordings and toured Germany. He also performed at festivals in Sweden, Finland, and Great Britain. Martin Saving has appeared on radio and television programs in Sweden and Great Britain.
He has received a number of scholarships and awards, including:
- the Guido Vecchi prize;
- the Johannes Norrby scholarship;
- the PROMIS LSO price;
- scholarships from the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm.
- Martin Saving is passionate about Baroque music and studied Baroque viola with Jan Schlapp.
He is a member of the Elias String Quartet and Ensemble 360.
The Elias String Quartet was appointed as a Junior Scholar and later as an Associate Quartet at the RNCM ( Royal Dutch National Music Centre). They also spent a year at the Cologne University of Music with the Alban Berg Quartet. The Quartet received second prize and the Sidney Griller Prize at the 9th London International String Quartet Competition in 2003 (as did the Johnston String Quartet). They were finalists in the Paolo Borciani Competition in 2005 and have received several Hattori Foundation scholarships.
They have performed very often in the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Italy and the USA, in venues such as Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Fairfield Halls, Stockholm Concert Hall, the Louvre Auditorium, and Jordan Hall.
The Elias Quartet has been in residence at the Britten Pears School three times, where they worked closely with Hugh Maguire . They were subsequently invited to the International String Quartet Academy.
In February 2006, they were invited for a week-long residency at the New England Conservatory in Boston. The Quartet released an album of Mendelssohn quartets with Sanctary Classics, and an album of French harp music with harpist Sandrine Chatron for the French label “Ambroisie”.
In 2005, the Elias String Quartet was appointed String Quartet-in-Residence at Sheffield's Music in the Round as part of Ensemble 360. The ensemble comprises 11 musicians from around the globe: five wind instrumentalists, a pianist, a double bassist, and the Elias String Quartet. They are based at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre, but also tour nationally and are in residence at the universities of Sheffield and York. They have a residency at Wigmore Hall in London. Ensemble 360 has released an album of chamber music by Mozart and Spohr with Sanctuary Classics.
