Borut Kržišnik Symphonic Orchestra
Borut Kržišnik's background
Kržišnik started his musical career as a self taught guitarist in the late 1980s, when he played for the famed groups Laibach and Borghesia. At that time, he also started composing and wrote his first music for an art exhibition. This was soon followed by writing music for dance and theatre performances, and throughout the 90s he has done much work with a number of theatre directors, especially Emil Hrvatin and Julie-Anne Robinson, for whom he started composing in the second half of the 90s. Continuing his earlier involvement in other art practices, he has done much work with Nataša Prosenc and also collaborated with the artist Marina Gržinić.
Data Direct
Data Direct were Borut Krišnik, saxophonist Primož Simončič (also a member of Lolita), clarinettist Mario Marolt and violinist Vuk Kraković. Only one record, released simultaneously by Front Rock and the German label Discordia in 1995 and called La Dolce Vita, is officially attributed to them, but in fact a more or less similar personel and musical orientation was applied for Borut Kržišnik's first album Currents of Time from 1991 (which was then already released by a foreign (UK) records company, anticipating his successful international career).
The group's interest concentrated on the exploration of contemporary eclectic music, surpassing any precise definition of genre but generally moving in the coordinates of symphony orchestra, ethereal folk music of the Balkans and improvised, free or 'cool' jazz and avant-garde rock.
On the album La Dolce Vita and also some live performances they were joined by the double bass player Giovanni Maier (of the Enrico Rava Group), the saxophonist Hugo Sekoranja, Roman Dečman from the concert formation of Laibach, perccusionist Zlatko Kaučič and Sandra Rekar on piano. Under the name Data Processed Corrupted, they appeared at the Ljubljana's Druga Godba Festival in 1993, performed on the “Vorax” festival in Vicenza and at the “Synthesis – Music of the 20th Century” festival (Skopje).
Later works for dance, theatre and film
After the year 2000, his extensive collaboration with Peter Greenaway started. They met when Peter had an ad-hoc music request for his Map to Paradise from Ljubljana site-specific multimedia installation, produced on the occasion of Peter Greenaway's complex presentation organised in Ljubljana by Muzeum Institute in 2000. This was followed by a number of scores for Greenaways performances, installations, theatre plays, documentaries and films. He wrote and produced the score for his film trilogy and multi-media event, the Tulse Luper Suitcases, and its integral version A Life in Suitcases, which were screened at almost all important film festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Rotterdam, Tribeca, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Philadelphia, Hong Kong, Edinburgh and many others).
Besides his extensive work with Greenaway, he did music for ballets by Massimiliano Volpini and Isabelle Kralj, worked with the renowned choreographer Edward Clug, and did music for some Slovene films and documentaries (Pokrajina št. 2 by Vinko Möderndorfer and Fabiani Plecnik by Amir Muratović).
A dance performance recorded in the Slovene parliament for the 20 anniversary of the Slovene constitution. Music by Borut Kržišnik.
Discography
After his first two albums with Data Direct, his digital processing equipment (Borut Kržišnik Symphonic Orchestra) was less and less supported by live musicians. Stories from Magatrea, first released by KUD France Prešeren and two years later also put out by the American label Falcata - Galia Recording, was followed by A Life in Suitcases (2005, KUD France Prešeren), which is in fact for the same-named film and the aforementioned trilogy. The next album, Sacre du Temps (2007, Station Zuid), was also music he did for another artist, this time the choreographer Edward Clug. His next release, the album Valse Brutal from 2009, is once again an independent musical piece.
More than two decades of musical work, he has gone through a myriad of sonic choices, dealing with avant-garde, popular, tonal, atonal, abstract, concrete, improvised and other musics. Yet, he did create a distinctive musical language. As only two of his symphonic works were ever performed 'unplugged', by a live symphonic orchestra, he continues working with his Magatrea's Symphonic Orchestra, as he sometimes called it.