Biography

Austrian conductor Peter Sommerer (insta link) has been chief conductor and artistic director of the Saxon Wind Philharmonic since the beginning of 2021, which was awarded the “Opus Klassik” as Ensemble of the Year 2023 for the first joint CD recording “La Valse” (Hänssler classic). (www.saechsische-blaeserphilharmonie.de)

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In addition to his commitments to this orchestra, which is unique in Germany, he is also in demand internationally as a guest conductor. At the beginning of the 2019/20 season he made his celebrated debut in Mexico with the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato Bucheon Philharmonic. From 2012-2019 Peter Sommerer was General Music Director of the Landestheater Schleswig-Holstein.

His debut in South Korea with the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra marked the beginning of his increased activities in Asia. In addition, future invitations will take him to Germany, Austria, France, Italy and Greece.

Peter Sommerer has already conducted the Schleswig-Holstein Symphony Orchestra for the “hänssler” record label, and a CD production with Scandinavian music was released in summer 2019.

His versatility is also emphasized by opera productions such as Ligeti’s “Le Grand Macabre”, Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut”, Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor”, Hindemith’s “Cardillac”, Verdi’s “La Traviata”, Alban Berg’s “Lulu”, Massenet’s “Don Quichotte” or Bizet’s Carmen.

Innovative and varied concert programs, from classical-symphonic to “cross-over”, have opened up new audience segments and are an expression of his extensive repertoire.

“You can already tell from the first bars of the overture, conducted with vehemence and real dramatic breath, that GMD Peter Sommerer likes the ‘Dutchman’.”

This is how the Opernglas (12/2018) writes about the premiere of the “Flying Dutchman”, which was also acclaimed by the audience.

His presentations, such as for performances of contemporary works, are extremely popular and give the audience better access to supposedly “difficult” music. The press attested to his New Year’s concert: “Peter Sommerer is not only a spirited conductor of his orchestra, but also a gifted compere.” (shz. 01/2018)

He has conducted the Royal Orchestra Copenhagen, at the Zurich Opera House, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, the Austro-Iranian Symphony Orchestra Tehran, the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Lübeck, Magdeburg and Jena Philharmonic, the South Danish Philharmonic, as well as regularly in the USA and Canada.

His concern to promote young musicians is expressed in the assumption of the artistic direction of the “Junge Philharmonie Brandenburg” at the beginning of the 2018/19 season. He also founded the “Symphonic Youngsters” who held their “summer academy” in a bus garage.

Peter Sommerer also works as a lecturer in orchestral conducting, initially at the Lübeck University of Music and since the summer semester of 2022 at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University of Music and Theater in Leipzig.

The time from 2002 to 2005 as Michael Boder’s permanent assistant was formative, which brought him to houses such as the Vienna State Opera, Saxon State Opera in Dresden, German State Opera.