An Interview with Peter Gregson

Acclaimed cellist and composer Peter Gregson joins The Film Scorer Podcast! Peter and I talk about his Recomposed Bach Cello Suites (in which Peter re-examined some of Bach’s great cello works), taking me far out of my musical knowledge depth and comfort! We also discuss his excellent new album Patina and his forays into scoring for film and other media. During the conversation, Peter mimics a few cello melodies by singing, which is a highlight that can’t be missed.

This is one of those interviews that’s been a long time coming. We first got in touch in June, with the birth of Peter’s second child and Peter once again performing some concerts in Europe pushing things back. I’m ecstatic that we were able to navigate things, however, as this was both a fun and highly educational interview for me! I hope that, after listening, you feel the same.

Peter has described Patina as finding the “absence in presence” or the “presence in absence.” He’s further called it “a collection of pieces where the sounds have aged, where the music has lived a life; where the reverbs are shadowy, dusty crevices, subtly degrading as they decay. In this album, musical distortion is not used for aggression, but for playing with the perception of the sound like a trick mirror at a fairground. The cello sounds like a smoky, whisky-laced voice late at night or like listening to a storm rage outside, from the safety of a warm indoors. All of the sounds in all of the music on this album are the sounds of a life that has been lived. This may be mechanically reproduced – a perfect snapshot in time, never changing, the same forever – but accepting imperfections and appreciating the everyday impact of life is, for me, what Patina is all about.”

In addition to Patina and Recomposed, Peter has scored films like Blackbird and A Little Chaos, as well as the videogame Boundless. His music has also been used in a variety of projects, such as Bridgerton and The New Pope.

You can find out more about Peter on his website, while his scores and Patina are available on all major services (with Patina also being available to buy from Deutsche Grammophon). It’s an excellent album and I highly recommend checking it out!

Have a listen to our conversation below or wherever you get your podcasts (including Spotify and Apple Podcasts).