Peter Seivewright
Encyclopedia
Peter Seivewright is a British
pianist
. After music studies at Oxford
, he was a post-graduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music
in Manchester
, where he studied piano with Ryszard Bakst
.
, Victor Bendix
, and Louis Glass
, he is perhaps most known for his current endeavor to record all 90 of the keyboard sonata
s of Baldassare Galuppi for The Divine Art record company. This has involved him in personally researching manuscripts of Galuppi's sonatas in Venice
, and reportedly in editing and publishing them in due course as well.
Reviews of Seivewright's Galuppi have been varied. Some have been impressed by Galuppi's sonatas themselves, using Domenico Scarlatti
as a benchmark with one reviewer calling them "far more appealing than Scarlatti sonatas,"; others have made the same comparison to Galuppi's detriment ("the individual pieces lack the character and sparkling invention so typical of Scarlatti").
Seivewright's playing has also been evaluated variously, with many reviewers applauding it. Reviewer Gerald Fenech terms him "an enthusiastic and technically accomplished pianist" who "plays with great conviction and flair in all the sonatas presented here." Kevin Sutton, however, complains that "The halting playing, lack of line tension and the image that I was listening to a pianist playing over, rather than through a composer continually disturbed me. (Glenn Gould
would have been proud.)"
Nevertheless, it is clear that Seivewright is performing an important service in renewing interest in Galuppi's long-neglected keyboard output, and one that should help broaden our knowledge of the composer.
and "Moduli" (a series of piano pieces), and commissioning "A Saltire Sonata" from Robert Crawford. He also performed Martin Dalby's score for the ten-minute film for schoolchildren "Let's See: Winter."
, Seivewright underwent a quadruple-bypass operation
in 2000, and used a work by Johann Sebastian Bach
for purposes of music therapy
. The Telegraph reported that Seivewright
(The opening movement "Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen," actually a chorus
with orchestra
, is evidently meant.) However, the operation was successful, and though Seivewright attributed this to his surgeon, the Telegraph commented that "Bach's music floating around in his subconscious was certainly a contributory factor."
and Miklos Rozsa
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. After music studies at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, he was a post-graduate student at the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, where he studied piano with Ryszard Bakst
Ryszard Bakst
Ryszard Bakst was a Polish and British pianist and piano teacher of Jewish/Polish/Russian origin.Bakst was a descendant of the Russian artist Leon Bakst...
.
Work with Galuppi's sonatas
Although he has released several recordings, including discs of Carl NielsenCarl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
, Victor Bendix
Victor Bendix
Victor Emanuel Bendix was a Jewish Danish composer, conductor and pianist. His teachers included Niels Gade....
, and Louis Glass
Louis Glass
Louis Glass was a Danish composer.Glass, born in Copenhagen, was almost an exact contemporary of Carl Nielsen and like Nielsen was a student of Niels Gade. However, Glass also studied at the Brussels Conservatory where he became enamored of the music of César Franck and Anton Bruckner, both of...
, he is perhaps most known for his current endeavor to record all 90 of the keyboard sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
s of Baldassare Galuppi for The Divine Art record company. This has involved him in personally researching manuscripts of Galuppi's sonatas in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, and reportedly in editing and publishing them in due course as well.
Reviews of Seivewright's Galuppi have been varied. Some have been impressed by Galuppi's sonatas themselves, using Domenico Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti
Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style...
as a benchmark with one reviewer calling them "far more appealing than Scarlatti sonatas,"; others have made the same comparison to Galuppi's detriment ("the individual pieces lack the character and sparkling invention so typical of Scarlatti").
Seivewright's playing has also been evaluated variously, with many reviewers applauding it. Reviewer Gerald Fenech terms him "an enthusiastic and technically accomplished pianist" who "plays with great conviction and flair in all the sonatas presented here." Kevin Sutton, however, complains that "The halting playing, lack of line tension and the image that I was listening to a pianist playing over, rather than through a composer continually disturbed me. (Glenn Gould
Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould was a Canadian pianist who became one of the best-known and most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. He was particularly renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard music of Johann Sebastian Bach...
would have been proud.)"
Nevertheless, it is clear that Seivewright is performing an important service in renewing interest in Galuppi's long-neglected keyboard output, and one that should help broaden our knowledge of the composer.
Work with modern composers
Seivewright has also been a champion of music by living composers, having performed Rory Boyle's piano concertoPiano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
and "Moduli" (a series of piano pieces), and commissioning "A Saltire Sonata" from Robert Crawford. He also performed Martin Dalby's score for the ten-minute film for schoolchildren "Let's See: Winter."
Use of music therapy for surgical recovery
According to Britain's The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, Seivewright underwent a quadruple-bypass operation
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
in 2000, and used a work by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
for purposes of music therapy
Music therapy
Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a trained music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their...
. The Telegraph reported that Seivewright
- "was determined that if he didn't wake up, the last music he listened to would be the 'greatest music ever written': the opening orchestral movement [sic] of Bach's St Matthew PassionMatthäuspassionThe St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, , is a musical composition from the Passions written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander . It sets chapters 26 and 27 of the Gospel of Matthew to music, with interspersed chorales and arias...
."
(The opening movement "Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen," actually a chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
with orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, is evidently meant.) However, the operation was successful, and though Seivewright attributed this to his surgeon, the Telegraph commented that "Bach's music floating around in his subconscious was certainly a contributory factor."
Forthcoming recordings
Seivewright's reverence for Bach may also be judged by the fact that his record label has announced that in 2008, they will release a recording of four of the composer's keyboard concertos by the pianist with the Scottish Baroque Soloists, as well as another disc including works by Elliott CarterElliott Carter
Elliott Cook Carter, Jr. is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music...
and Miklos Rozsa
Miklós Rózsa
Miklós Rózsa was a Hungarian-born composer trained in Germany , and active in France , England , and the United States , with extensive sojourns in Italy from 1953...
.
External links
- Biography of Peter Seivewright at The Divine Art record company.
- "Ceaseless quest for versatility": Review of Seivewright concert from The Telegraph, Calcutta, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 27 October 2006.