Peter Breiner (born 3 July 1957) is a Slovak pianist,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and composer.

Biography

Early life and studies

Breiner, born in

Humenné Humenné (; ; ) is a town in the Prešov Region ("kraj") in eastern Slovakia and the second largest town of the historic Zemplín region. It lies at the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha Rivers. Na ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, began to play the piano at age four. When he was nine, he enrolled at the conservatory in

Košice Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...

, Slovakia, where he studied piano, percussion, composition, and conducting. He subsequently moved to

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, where he attended the Academy of Performing Arts, continuing his composition studies under the tuition of

Alexander Moyzes Alexander Moyzes (4 September 1906 – 20 November 1984) was a Slovak neoromantic composer. Biography Moyzes was born into a musical family in 1906 at Kláštor pod Znievom, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was the composer and educat ...

. He graduated from the academy in 1982.

Career

Breiner has recorded over 260 albums as conductor, composer, arranger, and pianist. He is known for his arrangements, such as Baroque versions of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and similar adaptations of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, as well as arrangements of popular Christmas music. His 2004 release of all the national anthems of the world was used at the Athens Olympic Committee as the music for medal ceremonies at the games. He has collaborated with other notable musicians, including

Peter Lipa Peter Lipa (born May 30, 1943) is a Slovak singer, composer, and promoter of jazz. He has been called the Father of Slovak Jazz. Lipa is regarded as the most significant figure in the Slovak jazz scene. He developed a unique vocal style that ...

, Gustav Brom, and Milan Markovič. In 1998, he published his first book, titled ''Javorové listy'', and in 2015, his second book, ''Iný glóbus nemáte?'', came out. Since 2006, he has collaborated with violinist Stanislav Palúch and accordionist Boris Lenko as the trio Triango. His triple-CD ''Janáček Operatic Suites'', released on

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

, was ranked as one of ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''s Top Ten Classical CDs of 2009. Breiner has also had a career as a television personality. In the early 2000s, his talk show on STV, called ''Do You Have Something Against That?'', was temporarily banned, due to accusations of being exceedingly controversial. On 1 January 2018, Slovak President

Andrej Kiska Andrej Kiska (; born 2 February 1963) is a Slovak politician, entrepreneur, writer and philanthropist who served as the fourth president of Slovakia from 2014 to 2019. He ran as an Independent politician, independent candidate in the 2014 Slova ...

presented Breiner with the

Order of Ľudovít Štúr The Order of Ľudovít Štúr () is the third highest Slovak state decoration (after the Order of the White Double Cross and the Orders, decorations, and medals of Slovakia#Andrej Hlinka Order, Order of Andrej Hlinka) conferred by the President ...

. In 2022, Breiner started a collaboration with the streaming company OnAir, conducting the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

, resulting in three films of

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

ballets (''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (; ) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who c ...

'', ''

Petrushka Petrushka ( rus, Петру́шка, p=pʲɪtˈruʂkə, a=Ru-петрушка.ogg) is a stock character of Russian folk puppetry. It was first introduced by traveling Italian performers in the first third of the 19th century during a period of W ...

'', ''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring'' () is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky ...

''). The same year, he began releasing solo piano albums on the

and Orchid Classics/Blue Cloud Music labels.).

Personal life

Breiner lived in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada, from March 1992 to June 2007. From June 2007 to June 2020, he resided in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and since July 2020, he lives in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

Awards and recognition

* Friends of Slovakia prize – for the promotion of Slovak culture in the United States (2014) *

(2018)

References

External links

* *
Instant Encore page with recordings, concert dates, bio, and links

Biography
at osobnosti.sk {{DEFAULTSORT:Breiner, Peter 1957 births Living people People from Humenné Slovak people of German descent Czechoslovak emigrants to Canada Slovak composers Canadian male classical composers 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) Canadian male pianists Slovak classical pianists Slovak male composers Slovak conductors (music) Slovak male conductors (music) Slovak expatriates in the United States 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century male musicians Slovak male writers Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava alumni