Peter WesenAuer

The Austrian composer and conductor Peter WesenAuer studied composition with Boguslav Schäffer and Ennio Morricone, as well as conducting with Michael Gielen, Salvatore Mas Conte, and Hans Graf. Since 1996, he has been working as a freelance conductor and composer and was awarded the Upper Austrian State Culture Prize that same year for his music theater work Schwarzes Gold ("Black Gold").

WesenAuer has made a name for himself internationally as a sought-after guest conductor and composer. He made his debut at the Great Festival Hall in Salzburg in 2003, at the Vienna Konzerthaus in 2004, and at the Vienna Musikverein in 2020. A particularly significant moment in his career was his engagement as the conductor for the European opera project St. Kilda by the BBC London in 2007.

Since 2002, Peter WesenAuer has been the chief conductor of the Sinfonietta da Camera Salzburg, with whom he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2011. The ensemble, praised for its creative programming and exceptional sound culture, enjoys great recognition under his leadership. Numerous concert tours have taken him to France, Poland, Russia, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Japan. From 2006 to 2012, WesenAuer was also the music director of the Salzkammergut Mozart Festival, and since 2013, he has been the artistic director of the Sound of Hallstatt Festival. In the 2021/22 season, he took on the position of General Music Director of the Sorbian National Ensemble in Bautzen.

As a composer, WesenAuer's oeuvre includes more than 300 compositions, including two operas, four symphonies, numerous stage works, and a wide variety of chamber music pieces. His works are characterized by stylistic diversity and innovative expression and are appreciated internationally.