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Peter Gregson

Piano Book

Deutsche Grammophon
Release Date: August 26, 2022

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Adam Leaves
1 3_2 Allemande  
2 Adam Leaves (Second Half)  
3 Lights in the Sky  
4 Warmth  
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British composer and cellist Peter Gregson is a prolific artist whose work spans music for film, TV series, dance as well as five studio albums. Although he has composed music for string ensembles and electronics, the cello has always been the centrepiece of his oeuvre, defining his sound throughout. Now, Gregson decides to shift perspectives, inviting Kindt to revisit some of his early pieces and rework them on solo piano for a new EP. 

While Gregson’s last album, the highly-acclaimed release 'Patina', explored the function of melodies in songs, 'Piano Book’ shines a light on the role of chords. “On the cello, to do chords, we need to do some gymnastics which always sounds quite 'busy' or 'intense', and that's glorious. The piano can do it so simply, so effortlessly... that's what I wanted to bring to this music,” says Gregson. This ease with which the piano allows for chordal arrangements opened new directions for Gregson’s pieces to be reworked with an even greater sense of intimacy. The 2014 piece, 'Lights in the Sky', for instance, was originally recorded as a mass of multi-tracked cellos overlaid onto one another, but could be played singularly by Kindt on the piano. “The aesthetic difference may sound subtle, but it's the difference between eight people – or, in the pianist's case, several fingers – playing once, or one person playing eight times,” notes Gregson. 

  • panLab Console brings spatial audio to the Southbank Centre in Peter Gregson performance of 'Patina' / Installation
    Posted At: November 14, 2023 12:00 AM
    panLab Console, the new spatial audio solution from Innovate Audio, enabled an immersive, 'surround sound' performance at London’s prestigious Southbank Centre on 4 November, when cellist and composer Peter Gregson presented a performance of his 2021 album, PatinaInstallation's ROB LANE writes….panLab Console, the new spatial audio solution from Innovate Audio, enabled an immersive, ‘surround sound’ perform...
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  • Peter Gregson's advice to young musicians / TheThings
    Posted At: December 14, 2022 12:00 AM
    Peter Gregson shares how other aspiring musicians can follow in his footsteps, while staying true to themselves.TheThings - TESSA HAYLEY HELLBERG writes….Peter Gregson is passionate about creating classic music both contemporarily relevant and future-proof, and he's equally passionate about inspiring others to do the same.After previously telling TheThings about the importance of musicians creating for the ...
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  • Peter Gregson outlines pieces of equipment for the string player whose interests are piqued by electronics / theStrad
    Posted At: December 7, 2022 12:00 AM
    Electronics for string players: where to start Peter Gregson via theStrad writes….I find talking about working with strings and electronics surprisingly tricky, seeing as it’s my passion and accounts for probably 80 per cent of my musical output. I started experimenting, exploring and integrating electronics into my musical world when I was 14, so have been doing it for 21 years. I take it just as seri...
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  • How Peter Gregson creates music that transcends time, place, and the here and now / TheThings
    Posted At: September 22, 2022 12:00 AM
    TheThings - TESSA HAYLEY HELLBERG writes…Peter Gregson knows a thing or two about creating music that transcends time and place, all while staying relevant to the here and now.Shortly after it premiered on Netflix in 2021, Bridgerton became a worldwide phenomenon, much of its success owing to the keen attention to every detail of the production.From breathtaking cast members, to whimsical wardrobes and sets...
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  • Peter Gregson - Patina makes 'The Best of Echoes 2021
    Posted At: December 30, 2021 12:00 AM
    Peter Gregson, renowned composer, cellist and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, released his fifth studio album, Patina in September 2021. Scored for solo cello, analogue synthesisers, piano and string orchestra, the album's title track – featured heavily vocoded cello and evoking the sounds of a city waking up to a new day. Gregson has long been fascinated with the impact of finitude and absence on lif...
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  • The Echoes Interview with Peter Gregson
    Posted At: November 11, 2021 12:00 AM

    Peter Gregson, renowned composer, cellist and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, recently released his fifth studio album, Patina. Scored for solo cello, analogue synthesisers, piano and string orchestra, the album's title track features a heavily vocoded cello track evoking the sounds of a city waking up to a new day.  Today, Tuesday, Nov 16, 2021 – The Echoes Interview with Peter ...
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  • Peter Gregson chats about 'Patina' with 95.3WHRB
    Posted At: October 25, 2021 12:00 AM

    Renowned composer, cellist and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist Peter Gregson has written music for such films as A Little Chaos (2015). He has also released a recomposition of Bach's Cello Suites in 2018. Gregson's latest recording, his fifth studio album on Deutsche Grammophon, Patina, scored for solo cello, analogue synthesisers, piano and string orchestra was released on 10 September 2021...
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  • Peter Gregson chats with US Radio
    Posted At: October 6, 2021 12:00 AM

    The music of Peter Gregson, the renowned Composer, Cellist, and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist is regularly sought out by the most exciting choreographers and dance companies in the world, recently including Theatrehaus Stuttgart / Gauthier Dance, Joffrey Ballet, PA Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and Ballet BC. Amongst his film credits,  Roger Michell's ‘Blackbird' (starring Kate...
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  • Peter Gregson Q&A's with Ludwig Van Toronto
    Posted At: June 14, 2021 12:00 AM

    Peter Gregson, renowned composer, cellist and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, released his fifth studio album, Patina. Scored for solo cello, analogue synthesisers, piano and string orchestra, the album features heavily vocoded cello and evoking the sounds of a city waking up to a new day.  Ludwig Van's Anya Wassenberg writes.....Scottish cellist and Deutsche Grammo...
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  • Cellists protest British Airways check-in problems with impromptu concert / CLASSIC fM
    Posted At: October 14, 2019 12:00 AM

    Six cellists were on the way back to the UK from Switzerland, when two of the players were unable to board their British Airways flight due to technical issues. Peter Gregson, Gabriella Swallow, Ashok Klouda, Adrian Bradbury, Ben Chappell and Tim Lowe had been in Switzerland for Gregson's Bach Recomposed project last Friday (11 October). But when they tried to return home, they were met with technical pr...
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  • Why it's worth revisiting Bach's musical legacy / GQ India
    Posted At: June 8, 2019 12:00 AM

    Peter Gregson is a brave man. The 32-year-old Englishman is a renowned cellist and composer, but I mention bravery first because of an album he put out in October 2018. It was titled Recomposed: Bach – The Cello Suites, and was the aural equivalent of an architect trying to recreate the Taj Mahal using brick and mortar. What Gregson did was reinterpret one of the most loved pieces of music in Weste...
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  • On Bach Recomposed, Peter Gregson translates a landmark of the cello repertoire into his own musical language
    Posted At: February 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    Cellist and composer Peter Gregson is a man obsessed with sonic frontiers: "The job of the musician is to create stuff that's relevant to his time," he says. "You can get it wrong if all you do is stubbornly stick to your guns. I want to be able to adapt to changing landscapes." In Bach Recomposed, Gregson translates a landmark of the cello repertoire into his own unique musical language. The album i...
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  • What is post-classical music? / BBC Music Magazine
    Posted At: February 20, 2019 12:00 AM

    Defining ‘contemporary classical' music is fraught with complications: should we include film music, for example, and what about music that uses amplification? From Adès to Zimmer, the canon is thrillingly diverse, and features various nooks and crannies within which exciting sounds emerge. It's a soundworld that listeners are just as likely to encounter via curated streaming platfor...
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