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Artist: Peter Boyer
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Peter Boyer:

Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue w/Biegel, LSO

The Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue project by composer Peter Boyer and pianist Jeffrey Biegel continues to expand its reach, securing performance commitments from 54 orchestras in all 50 of the United States. In addition, reaching beyond the United States to achieve an international presence, Boyer and Biegel recorded the new Rhapsody with the world-renowned London Symphony Orchestra for the acclaimed Naxos American Classics Series. Naxos will release this recording on February 23, 2024.

Biegel, a prolific pianist with an extraordinary record of commissioning new works for piano and orchestra, commissioned Boyer to compose this new work in celebration of the centennial of George Gershwin’s iconic Rhapsody in Blue (premiered February 12, 1924). Since 2020, Biegel has pursued a highly ambitious “Rhapsody National Initiative,” with the goal of performing Boyer’s new work with at least one orchestra in each of the 50 United States. As of January 2024, this remarkable vision has been fulfilled, and Boyer’s new Rhapsody will be performed by orchestras in all 50 states by the 2026-27 season (details below). This is believed to be an unprecedented feat for a new concerto by an American composer.

The Rhapsody in Red, White & Blue was recorded with Biegel as soloist, and Boyer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra at the famed AIR Studios, Lyndhurst Hall on November 27, 2023. Simon Rhodes, Senior Engineer at Abbey Road Studios, known for his work on projects such as the first two Harry Potter film scores, the Avatar film scores, and hundreds of classical albums and other film scores, was producer and engineer for the recording. Naxos will release the Rhapsody recording on February 23, 2024.This is Boyer’s fourth recording for the American Classics Series, and his third recording with the LSO as composer and conductor.

Boyer’s ca. 18-minute Rhapsody was premiered on June 30, 2023, with Biegel and the Utah Symphony conducted by Benjamin Manis, on the opening night of the Deer Valley Music Festival in Park City, Utah. An outdoor audience of more than 3,000 rewarded the new work with a prolonged standing ovation — a reaction which has been repeated by audiences at each subsequent performance, by nine different orchestras to date.

Peter Boyer:

Balance of Power - Orchestral Works

On July 8, 2022, Naxos releases American composer/conductor Peter Boyer’s newest recording, with the London Symphony Orchestra under his direction. The album includes eight of Boyer’s works, with six world premiere recordings. The centerpiece of the album is Balance of Power, a three-movement, 19-minute work commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in honor of the 95th birthday of Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State. The National Symphony Orchestra premiered Balance of Power at the Kennedy Center in September 2021. The recording also features Fanfare for Tomorrow, commissioned and premiered by the U.S. Marine Band at the inauguration of President Joseph Biden, in a new orchestral version.

The album includes two works originally commissioned and recorded by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as the Cincinnati Pops: Rolling River (Sketches on “Shenandoah”), a setting of the American folk tune, and In the Cause of the Free, on the theme of Veterans Day. Additional works include Curtain Raiser, an exuberant opener; Elegy for English horn, harp and strings; Fanfare, Hymn and Finale, originally commissioned for the 220th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Band; and Radiance, a string orchestra work composed especially for this recording.

This is Boyer’s third album in the Naxos American Classics Series, following his GRAMMY-nominated Ellis Island: The Dream of America with the Philharmonia Orchestra, and his Symphony No. 1 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Boyer stated: “I’m delighted to have my work included again in a series which features many of the greatest American composers—from Copland, Gershwin, Barber, Bernstein, Ellington, and Ives to contemporary giants such as Adams and Corigliano. It’s certainly meaningful to be in such musical company.”

Peter Boyer:

The Music of Peter Boyer

The acclaimed debut recording of GRAMMY nominated composer Peter Boyer with the world-renowned London Symphony Orchestra has been re-released by Propulsive Music. Featuring the works: Celebration Overture, Titanic, Three Olympians, The Phoenix, Ghosts of Troy, and New Beginnings, the album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and originally released by Koch in 2001. Now remastered with superior sonic quality, the recording has been reissued under Boyer's own Propulsive Music label. In its original release, the recording enjoyed widespread critical acclaim in print and at broadcast, and was produced by GRAMMY winner Michael Fine.

7 New 'ON' this week: 70 Total 'Stations/Shows'
SYND: The Romantic Hours, C24
Direct: DMX, Music Choice, Sirius, XM:Pops
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, New Orleans, Salt Lake, Madison WI, Tampa, Buffalo, San Antonio

Peter Boyer:

Ellis Island: The Dream of America

Release Peter Boyer's Ellis Island: The Dream of America celebration of the immigrant experience features performances by Hollywood stars Olympia Dukakis, Barry Bostwick, and Bebe Neuwirth. An ambitious work combining spoken word performances of actual Ellis Island immigrant stories with powerful orchestral music. Performed by London's renowned Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Boyer himself.

1 New Stations "ON" this week: 56 Stations Total
Syndicated: Classical 24
Markets include: Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Berkeley CA, Tucson, Columbus OH

Peter Boyer:

Symphony No. 1

Naxos has released the world premiere recording of Peter Boyer's Symphony No. 1. Featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Boyer's direction at historic Abbey Road Studios, the disc also includes his Silver Fanfare, Festivities, Celebration Overture and Three Olympians. The 24-minute, three-movement symphony is the centerpiece, containing music both powerfully rhythmic and deeply lyrical, with an unmistakably American identity. Boyer dedicated his symphony to the memory of Leonard Bernstein, with the acceptance of Bernstein's children. In a review of this LPO recording, Gramophone wrote: "Boyer, who claims more than 300 performances by more than 100 orchestras, writes in a fluent, powerful style that fuses conservative American currents with Hollywood-ish size and populist sentiment."

14 NEW  148 TOTAL
SYND: PRI/Classical 24, The Romantic Hours
Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD
Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Franciso, Boston, Wash DC., Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Portland, Pittsburgh, Denver, Cincinnati, Austin, Detroit, New Orleans, Louisville, Columbus OH, Albuquerque, Hartford CT, Tucson, Madison WI, Honolulu, Canada
Online: RadioIO, WGOE, CineMusical