Biography:
Peter Breiner, one of the world's most recorded musicians, was born in 1957 in Humenne, former Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia. He began to
play the piano at age four. At age nine he began formal training at the Conservatory in Kosice, former Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia
studying piano, percussion, and composition as well as conducting.
Peter later moved to Bratislava, former Czechoslovakia, now Slovakia where he attended the High School of Music Arts where he furthered his
composition studies with Alexander Moyzes. He graduated in 1982.
Since March 1992, Peter has lived in Toronto, Canada.
Peter has played in and conducted for literally hundreds of concerts and recordings (almost 90 compact discs so far...). His work is well
known in USA, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Holland, France, Finland, Italy, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong.
He is proficient in seven languages. He has hosted various TV and radio programs about music. In 1993, he was a co-host and music director
of the most popular TV talk show in Slovakia, attracting over 2 million viewers in a country with a population of 5,5 million. Also active
as a journalist, Peter has his own column in one of Slovakia's most influential weekly newspaper. His first book "Maple Leaves" came out in
April 1998 and became a No.1 non-fiction national bestseller immediately. In January 2000 he started to host his own (politically incorrect)
talkshow which was banned twice in three months, the second time for good.
One of Peter's favorite challenges is to play and conduct simultaneously. He does this with everything from Haydn and Mozart piano concertos
to Gershwin and his own compositions. His arrangements of "evergreen" and current pop hits as well as Asian folklore are hugely successful
with audiences. His archives include about 500 such arrangements. He has toured Asia a number of times, including playing Gershwin's
Rhapsody with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for an audience of 70,000. In August 1997, it was his eighth tour, this time with
Orchestre National de Lille (France), playing and conducting works by Brahms, Schubert and Tchaikovsky and in November 1998 a tour of 8
concerts in Japan's major cities, playing baroque music and his own compositions. This tour was extremely successful and resulted in another
invitation to Japan in the next season.
"Beatles Go Baroque" written by Peter, performed in Milano, Italy in July 1994 and filmed by French TV was acquired (among others) by Bravo
specialty channel and broadcasted many times nationwide. The "Beatles Go Baroque" CD is an international bestseller, currently reaching over
150,000 CD's sold. It was #4 on the Classical Top Ten List in Japan, #6 on ABC Radio Top Twenty (Australia) and was several times on the Top
Ten list throughout Europe.
Peter's Granados recording was chosen by Audiophile Audition (feeding 135 classical radio stations in the USA) as "The Best of 1995".
Sharing this honor with Peter is BSO with Ozawa and Berlin Phil. with Abbado.
It is really hard to determine whether he is more conductor as a composer or more pianist as an arranger. As he says - he is a musician. In
this age of high specialization, it is not so easy to find someone who with the same ease conducts a symphonic orchestra in Barber's
Symphony, a big-band at a swing concert, a chamber orchestra with baroque programme while playing harpsichord or a group of almost 200
musicians recording a score for Universal Studios' movie. It is also not so easy to find a pianist who would play recital of Mozart and
Bach one evening, jazz recital the other, followed by a night of tangos. Piano recitalsas his, where the audience requests make the
programme are also rather unusual nowadays.
Nearly all of Peter's compositions and arrangements have been recorded by various recording companies, (partial list enclosed) as well as
enjoying exposure through radio and television. His compositions and arrangements have been played in concerts worldwide. Films that include
his musical scores have enjoyed very wide international exposure. His recordings have been featured several times on Jay Leno's Tonight
Show, Saturday Night Live and Third Rock From The Sun.
Peter Breiner also recorded jazz, pop, symphonic music and piano concertos for television, radio, and recording companies as a conductor,
pianist and producer. For three years, Peter was a member of Europe's oldest big band as a pianist/conductor/composer and arranger.
As the author of two musicals (The Magic Goblet, on La Fontaine's tale and The Brakes) and one TV musical (The Stolen White Elephant, on
Mark Twain's short story) he has an experience in this area as well.
Peter Breiner is founder and president of Sympho Fun Incorporated; a Canadian company involved in recording classical and film music.
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