Peter Grünberg

Sydney-born musician Peter Grünberg has led a multifaceted career that spans several countries. For fifteen seasons, he was Musical Assistant to Michael Tilson Thomas at the San Francisco Symphony. During that time he worked on several Grammy-winning recordings, honed the perfomances of the SFS Chorus and many visiting soloists, and gave hundreds of pre-concert lectures. His performances as a piano soloist with the Symphony have often featured American music, from Gershwin and Copland to Ives and Adams.

He was appointed head coach at the Grand Théâtre de Genève at age 21. A few years later, as a result of preparing the first Australian performances of Berg’s Lulu, he was appointed Resident Conductor with the Sydney Symphony. In the 1990’s, he held the position of head of music staff at San Francisco Opera. During that period he conducted at Moscow Conservatory and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and led the San Francisco Symphony in a concert of opera excerpts. He performed at the festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, and also at Tanglewood with Frederica von Stade and the flutist Matthieu Dufour.

He has a long history of presenting and performing song recitals, having collaborated with such artists as Tatiana Troyanos, Deborah Voigt, Laura Claycomb and Quinn Kelsey. Instrumental chamber music is also close to Mr. Grunberg’s heart: He has performed Beethoven and Mozart in Japan with members of the Vienna Philharmonic; with Peter Henderson at Sun Valley Summer Symphony he performed John Adams’s two-piano extravaganza Hallelujah Junction. With the New Century Chamber Orchestra he recently arranged music from Berlin in the 1930’s for a performance with Thomas Hampson and Daniel Hope.

Mr. Grünberg retains a connection with both the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Opera, and is currently developing future collaborations with other young artist programs around the world. Grünberg continues to maintain an active life as a recitalist and chamber musician. Next season, he will be appearing with the young American violinist Benjamin Beilman in Sun Valley, and as artist-in-residence with LiederAlive! San Francisco, he will be performing again with soprano Esther Rayo and cellist Oliver Herbert in a wide-ranging program of music by Schubert.