Peter Breiner
Slovak arranger, composer, conductor and pianist Peter Breiner was born in Humenné on 3 July 1957, and began to play piano when he was four. By the age of nine, he was studying piano, percussion, composition and conducting at the Conservatory in Košice. He later studied with Alexander Moyzes at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava.
He is one of the world's most recorded musicians, as pianist and conductor, with more than 260 released CDs, and is known for his recordings of the world's national anthems and Janáček operatic suites. He has also arranged and recorded Christmas music and Baroque versions of Beatles and Elvis Presley songs.
He is known in Slovakia as a TV personality with a controversial talk show on Slovak Television which was once temporarily banned.
He lived in Toronto (1992-2007) and New York from 2007 until 2020. Since July 2020 he has been based in London.
Further information: peterbreiner.com
A selection of articles about Peter Breiner
CD Spotlight. Symphonic Fantasias on Songs - Peter Breiner's 'Slovak Dances, Naughty and Sad', recommended by Gerald Fenech. 'Elegant and full of warmth, these dances are imaginatively orchestrated and extremely well crafted, and the playing is wonderfully affective.'
DVD Spotlight. Fictional Hokum - Kevin Sullivan's 'Magic Flute Diaries', reviewed by Howard Smith. '... a "rag-bag" of special effects and Mozartian absurdities ...'
Record Box. Slow and Indulgent - Marin Alsop conducts Brahms, reviewed by Patric Standford
Engagingly accessible - Malcolm Miller reports on the UK première of Peter Breiner's jazzy Piano Trio