Peter Eötvös

Composer, conductor and teacher: the Hungarian Peter Eötvös combines all three functions in one very high-profile career.

His music features regularly in the programmes of orchestras, contemporary music ensembles and festivals worldwide; and as composer/conductor he has led projects focusing on his work in centres such as Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna. His most recent operas, Love and Other Demons and Angels in America, are following the lead of his Three Sisters by generating an ever-increasing number of new productions; and several major music theatre commissions are due in the next few years.

In addition to his roles listed above, Peter Eötvös is regularly re-invited as guest conductor by orchestras including Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; BBC Symphony; Wiener Philharmoniker, Cleveland Orchestra, NHK Orchestra Tokyo, Ensemble InterContemporain, Ensemble Modern.
From 2009 he is First Guest Conductor at Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna.

Equally important to Peter Eötvös are his teaching activities - especially his work at his own Contemporary Music Foundation for young conductors and composers in Budapest. Amonst the many honours he has been awarded are the Kossuth Prize, by the President of the Hungarian Republic in 2002; and the ’Commandeur de l`Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ in 2003 by the French minister of education and cultural affairs.

____________________________________________________________

Peter Eötvös
is one of the best known interpreters of 2Oth century music. He was born in Transsylvania, received diplomas from Budapest Academy of Music (composition) and Hochschule für Musik in Cologne (conducting). Between 1968 and 1976 he performed regularly with the Stockhausen Ensemble. From 1971 to 1979 he collaborated with the electronic music studio of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne.

In 1978, at the invitation of Pierre Boulez, he conducted the inaugural concert of IRCAM in Paris, and was subsequently named musical director of the Ensemble InterContemporain, a post he held until 1991.

Since his Proms debut in 1980 he has made regular appearances in London. From 1985-1988 he was Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
He was appointed First Guest Conductor at the Budapest Festival Orchestra from 1992-1995, First Guest Conductor at National Philharmonic Orchestra (Budapest) from 1998-2001. Chief Conductor of the Radio Chamber Orchestra of Hilversum from 1994 to 2005, First Guest conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra 2003-2005, and Principal Guest Conductor, Modern and Contemporary Repertoire at Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. from 2003 to 2007. From 2009 he is First Guest Conductor at Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna.

Other Orchestras he has worked with include the most important Radio Orchestras in Europe, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonia, Wiener Philharmoniker, Cleveland Orchestra and NHK Orchestra Tokyo. He has also worked in opera houses including La Scala Milan, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and La Monnaie Brussels, Festival Opera Glyndebourne, Theatre du Chatelet Paris, with directors including Luca Ronconi, Robert Altman, Klaus-Michael Grüber, Robert Wilson, Nikolaus Lehnhof, Ushio Amagatsu.

From 1992-98 he was professor at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe, and from 1998-2001 at Cologne's Hochschule für Musik. He returns to his post at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe between 2002-2007.
In 1991 he founded the International Eötvös Institute and Foundation, in 2004 the Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation in Budapest for young conductors and composers.
He regularly conducts master courses and seminars all over the world, e.g. Edekoben, Luzern, Basel, Luxemburg, Szombathely, Madrid etc.

He is member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, Szechenyi Academy of Art in Budapest, Sächsische Akademie der Künste in Dresden, Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

His many compositions (e.g. Atlantis, zeroPoints, Shadows, Jet Streams, CAP-KO, SEVEN) and operas (Three sisters, Le Balcon, Angels in America, Love and Other Demons) are regularly performed throughout the world.
His works have been recorded by BIS AG, BMC, DGG, ECM, KAIROS, COL LEGNO and his music is published by Editio Musica (Budapest), Ricordi (Munich), Salabert (Paris), Schott Music (Mainz).

Awards, prizes

European prize: "Pro Europa" prize in 2004 (Europäischer Preis für Komposition)

In Hungary: "Bartók-Pásztory prize" in 1997, "Kossuth Prize" in 2002, "Gundel arts award" in 2001, "Freeman of Budapest" in 2003, "Im memoriam Béla Bartók" prize and "Hungarian Arts Prize" in 2006,

In France: "Officier de l'Ordre des l'Arts et des Lettres" in 1988, Prize SACD Palmarès in cathegory "Prix Musique" in 2002, "Commandeur l´Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" in 2003, Cannes Classical Award for "Living Composer" in 2004, Grand Prix de la PMI - Prix Antoine Livio 2006 (Association Presse Musicale Internationale)

In Germany: "Frankfurter Musikpreis" in 2007, "Christoph und Stephan Kaske Preis" in 2000

In UK: Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award in 2002

Composition prizes

His opera "Three sisters" was awarded France's Prix Claude-Rostand, Grand Prix de la Critique (1998) and Victoires de la Musique Classique and du Jazz (1999) and its CD won Grand Prix of Academie Charles Cros (1999), Diapason d'or de l'année 2000, ECHO Preis 2000 in Germany and Prix Caecilia in Belgium (2000).

In 2003 the film of his opera" Le Balcon" won the Grand Prix Golden Prague. His CD Bartók Bluebeard´s Castle was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004.

His violin concerto " SEVEN" was awarded "Prix de Composition Musicale" at Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco in 2008.