Breiner’s Songs and Dances Released on Naxos/Marco Polo

Added: (Tue Nov 25 2003)

Pressbox (Press Release) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 24, 2003
Media Contact (for information, CDs, etc.):
Radka Poliakova, Sympho Inc., http://www.sympho.ca
416-489-5038, symphonic@sympatico.ca

Breiner’s Songs and Dances Released on Naxos/Marco Polo

Toronto, ON – Songs and Dances from the Silk Road (2003), composed by Peter Breiner, were released on Naxos/Marco Polo (8.225972) earlier this month. Inspired by folksongs that may have been heard along the ancient Silk Road, this Suite for Violin and Orchestra is an uplifting work by a Western composer. Breiner interspersed traditional Chinese music of the period with European composition techniques. The overall effect is an insightful approach to cultural communication reaching out to audiences all around the world.

Naxos/Marco Polo (www.naxos.com) is one of the world’s leading classical music labels and offers a wide range of well played and well recorded music. “The Label of Discovery” issued Breiner’s original composition paired with The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto written in 1958 by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao. It is a clever choice and allows listeners to weigh this synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions against Breiner’s creation. Both pieces are performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Judd, and soloist Takako Nishizaki (violin).

Born in Czechoslovakia, Canadian composer Peter Breiner is also known as a conductor, pianist and arranger. Breiner’s own compositions have always been “multidimensional”. During his studies, he composed, along with traditional works (Symphony for Orchestra), various avant-garde pieces as well (Variations on the Theme of Alban Berg: Antithesis for Big Orchestra). Nonetheless, he was fascinated by crossing over different musical worlds already in his Concertino for Viola and Strings (1976-77). It was the idea of neoclassic confrontation that appeared at the beginning of Breiner’s composition experimentation (Concertino; Fractures; Talking Watch; Something Like a Concert for Piano and Orchestra; Little Suite). Later, he preferred a synthesis of both polarized types of music (Another Concert for Piano and Orchestra; “… to lighten your pathway…”; Sonata Ostinata; Concert for Orchestra and Orchestra) which brings his music closer to the world of Leonard Bernstein.
Breiner’s Sonata Ostinata played by the Smetana Trio has been recently released on the LOTOS label (LT0109), and received a FIVE-star rating by CBC’s Rick Phillips in his program Sound Advice. Composed in 1988, Sonata Ostinata is a unique combination of elements blending classical piano trio and jazz piano trio. After its UK premiere in May 2001, Malcolm Miller wrote, “Breiner’s tonal and jazz modal harmony has a nostalgic flavour, sometimes recalling in texture the Gershwin-Heifetz arrangements, sometimes an almost Elgarian richness, notably in the suave lyrical melody …”
The idea of a hybrid product was behind Breiner’s commercially most successful Baroque arrangements of songs by the Beatles and Elvis Presley (CD Beatles Seasons 1985 as well as Beatles Go Baroque 1993 and CD Elvis Goes Baroque 1994).
Speaking “classic”, Breiner’s The Story is a monumental Passion composition created in 1985-1993. It is a Concert Oratorio composition constructed as Summa Passionis. The oratorio monumentality is represented not only by an extremely large orchestra, choir and five vocal soloists but also by the time dimension (90 minutes) of the composition. The Story premiered in 2001 at the Bratislava International Music Festival.
“… there must be something …”, Concerto for Piano, Violin, Violoncello and Orchestra was premiered by the Swiss ensemble Trio Animae and the Kosice State Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer in February 2002. In the review called Human Fate Melted in Tones, the press described this rare piece as “ … demonstration of intense observation, sincere understanding and masterful composition skills.”, and Breiner’s conducting as “brilliant and confident”. “[Breiner] truly created the world of ‘intimate’ contrasts; nevertheless, he kept the piece concise, technically as well as conceptually.” writes S. Curilla.

Takako Nishizaki
Nishizaki is one of the most frequently recorded and among the best selling violinists of all time. She performed in chamber music ensembles with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and others. Takako Nishizaki performed and recorded with pianists such as Jeno Jando, Wolf Harden, Alexander Zaikin and Michael Ponti. Including her recordings of Chinese music, Nishizaki has recorded more than 100 CDs to date.

James Judd
James Judd is the Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Principal Guest Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. His guest appearances include the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa, and many major orchestras in the USA. James Judd’s recent performances include recordings and concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Monte-Carlo Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, to name a few.

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra is now in its 53rd year. Based in Wellington, NZSO performs regularly throughout New Zealand and overseas.

- 30 -