Brett Leighton
Encyclopedia
Brett Leighton is a musician with some notability in Europe
. His expertise is the organ
and harpsichord
.
at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz
, Austria
. He is featured on at least four CD releases including Orgel Landschaft Ober-Österreich II (1998), Brett Leighton an der West-Orgel in Taufkirchen/Pram (1998) Music for Organ and Zink (2005) and The World's Oldest Organ and he is a judge for the 2007 Paul Hofhaimer Prize of Austria.
He was 1977 Student of the Year at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music
(Sydney, Australia), where his teacher was David Rumsey. Brett Leighton has lived in Europe for over 30 years. Further organ studies took him to Anton Heiller and Michael Radulescu in Vienna (Wiener Musikhochschule, 1981), and harpsichord with Jean-Claude Zehnder in Basel and Ton Koopman in Amsterdam. His many prizes and awards include the prestigious Paul Hofhaimer Prize of the City of Innsbruck in 1979. Since then, Brett Leighton has been an active recitalist in Europe, Japan
, Australia
, Mexico
and the USA. His repertoire spans almost all styles with an emphasis on historically researched performance practice. In addition, Leighton has played numerous first performances of contemporary organ works. He has broadcast and recorded CDs as soloist and in ensemble in Europe and Australia. In addition to teaching, Leighton is a regular performer at many European festivals and summer courses and has acted as consultant for the construction of new organs, especially in Austria.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. His expertise is the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
.
Career
Leighton is Professor of Organ and HarpsichordHarpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. He is featured on at least four CD releases including Orgel Landschaft Ober-Österreich II (1998), Brett Leighton an der West-Orgel in Taufkirchen/Pram (1998) Music for Organ and Zink (2005) and The World's Oldest Organ and he is a judge for the 2007 Paul Hofhaimer Prize of Austria.
He was 1977 Student of the Year at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
(Sydney, Australia), where his teacher was David Rumsey. Brett Leighton has lived in Europe for over 30 years. Further organ studies took him to Anton Heiller and Michael Radulescu in Vienna (Wiener Musikhochschule, 1981), and harpsichord with Jean-Claude Zehnder in Basel and Ton Koopman in Amsterdam. His many prizes and awards include the prestigious Paul Hofhaimer Prize of the City of Innsbruck in 1979. Since then, Brett Leighton has been an active recitalist in Europe, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the USA. His repertoire spans almost all styles with an emphasis on historically researched performance practice. In addition, Leighton has played numerous first performances of contemporary organ works. He has broadcast and recorded CDs as soloist and in ensemble in Europe and Australia. In addition to teaching, Leighton is a regular performer at many European festivals and summer courses and has acted as consultant for the construction of new organs, especially in Austria.
Press
- Concert reviews in Oberösterreichische Nachrichten: Apr. 13, 2005, Jun. 24, 2005, Oct. 13, 2006 (in German)
- Concert announcement in Der Vinschger, calling his music "first-class and legendary" (in German)
- Concert announcement in Österreich Journal, Sep. 3, 2003 (in German).
- Concert announcement in La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, Jan. 22, 2005 (in Italian)
- Concert announcement in El Diario Vasco, Apr. 25, 2006, calling Leighton "one of the great specialists of the baroque repertoire" (in Spanish).