Walton / Haydn / BreinerWalton / Haydn / Breiner

Walton, Haydn, Breiner – three composers of different nationalities whose artistic life is closely linked to the cultural life of England across three different periods. As the oldest of them, Joseph Haydn worked for many years in Esterháza and Eisenstadt, but his artistic travels also took him to the English royal court. Thanks to the tolerance of his employer Nicholas I, Haydn was one of the earliest music merchants. The open market also made him a darling of audiences in the islands of England.

It was there, a century later, that William Walton, who turned his attention to composing after the choir and school at Oxford were suspended during the First World War. The twenty-three-year-old’s work, the overture to Portsmouth Point, is as playful and fresh as its predecessor. This is Thomas Rowland’s painting of the harbour, which is as cheerful and colourful as the spices traded locally. A rhythmic work with elements of jazz, in which the influence of Stravinsky can also be felt, it was chosen by the International Society for Contemporary Music for a show in Zurich (1926).

A native of Humenné, composer, arranger, pianist and conductor Peter Breiner is similarly broadly talented as Haydn and Walton. He has worked for many years in Canada and the USA, but has been based in London for some time, where he works on his diverse musical projects. He also returns sporadically to Bratislava, the city of his studies. The last time we heard him at the Philharmonic was in spring 2024 in a chamber concert as pianist of the NW3 Trio, where he performed together with the soloist of these concerts, the cellist of the Royal Philharmonic Richard Harwood.

Breiner’s autumn visit to the Redoubt will see the premiere of a suite from the as yet unperformed ballet Master and Margaret, subtitled Devil in Moscow, based on Bulgakov’s novel of the same name.