Guest at the Elbphilharmonie

Peter Rundel is one of the most sought-after partners for leading European orchestras, owing to the depth of his approach to complex music of various styles and epochs as well as his interpretive creativity.

He is regularly invited to conduct the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, DSO Berlin and the NDR, WDR and SWR Radio Symphony Orchestras. Recent international guest appearances have included the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera Roma, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. After bringing Heiner Goebbels’ “Surrogate Cities” to Taipei this summer for its Asia premiere, he opened the 2018/19 season leading the Klangspuren Schwaz for the festival´s 25th anniversary. Additional invitations as conductor for this season include the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the symphony orchestras of the BR and WDR, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.

Peter Rundel has conducted the world premieres of opera productions at the Bavarian State Opera, Wiener Festwochen, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Bregenz Festival and Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele, while also collaborating with respected directors such as Peter Konwitschny, Peter Mussbach, Philippe Arlaud, Reinhild Hoffmann, Heiner Goebbels, Carlus Padrissa (La Fura dels Baus) and Willy Decker. His work in opera includes traditional repertoire (conducting “Die Zauberflöte” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and “König Kandaules”, “Hansel and Gretel” and “The Marriage of Figaro” at the Volksoper Vienna), as well as groundbreaking contemporary music theatre productions such as Stockhausen’s “Donnerstag” from “LICHT”, “Massacre” by Wolfgang Mitterer, the world premieres of Georg Friedrich Haas‘ “Nacht and Bluthaus”, Isabel Mundry’s “Ein Atemzug – die Odyssee” and Emmanuel Nunes’ “Das Märchen” and “La Douce”. The spectacular production of “Prometheus”, which he led at the Ruhrtriennale, was awarded the Carl-Orff-Preis in 2013. In 2016 and 2017, Peter Rundel conducted Louis Andriessen’s “De Materie” in New York’s Armory Hall and at Teatro Argentino La Plata, a production that he premiered at the Ruhrtriennale in 2014. With the world premiere of Hector Parras’s “Les Bienveillantes”, directed by Calixto Bieito, he will make his first appearance at the Opera Vlaanderen in 2019.

Born in Friedrichshafen, Germany, Peter Rundel studied violin with Igor Ozim and Ramy Shevelov, as well as conducting with Michael Gielen and Peter Eötvös. From 1984 until 1996 he was a violinist in Ensemble Modern, to which he has enjoyed long associations also as a conductor. He also maintains regular guest appearances with Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Collegium Novum Zürich, Ensemble intercontemporain and the Asko|Schönberg Ensemble. Peter Rundel has been artistic director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders and was the founding artistic director of the Kammerakademie Potsdam. In January 2005, he was appointed artistic director of the Remix Ensemble Casa da Música in Porto and has since enjoyed great success with the contemporary music ensemble at important festivals throughout Europe.

Peter Rundel is also deeply committed to the development and promotion of young musical talent. In Porto he founded the Remix Academy for ensemble musicians and conductors. He regularly teaches at international ensemble academies including the London Sinfonietta, the Ulysseus Ensemble at Manifeste Academy in Paris, the Lucerne Festival Acadamy and at Teatro alla Scala Milan, in addition to leading his own masterclasses on conducting in Bavaria.

Peter Rundel has been awarded many prizes for his recordings of 20th century music, including the prestigious “Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik” (Nono, “Prometeo”; Kyburz, “Ensemble- und Orchesterwerke”; Reich, “City Life”; Furrer, Piano Concerto), the “Grand Prix du Disque” (Barraqué, complete work), the “Echo Klassik” (“Sprechgesänge” with the Ensemble Musikfabrik) and a Grammy Award nomination (Heiner Goebbels, “Surrogate Cities”).

Oldest ensemble of contemporary music in France, with an exceptional repertoire, Les Percussions de Strasbourg are internationally recognized and respected for the quality of their performance and their ability to create and innovate.

The ensemble has performed more than 1700 concerts in 70 countries since its inception, has a repertoire of more than 350 original works, has developed one of the most unique ‘instrumentarium’ in the world with over 500 instruments, has published over 30 recordings, and been awarded more than 30 international prizes… among which a « Victoire de la Musique classique » in 2017 for the 1st release of the new record label Percussions de Strasbourg  Burning Bright by Hugues Dufourt.

It all began in 1959, when Pierre Boulez was invited to conduct his work Le Visage Nuptial in Strasbourg. To form the large desk of percussions he needed, musicians from the Strasbourg Orchestra and the ORTF orchestra were brought together. The six young musicians – Bernard Balet, Jean Batigne, Lucien Droeller, Jean-Paul Finkbeiner, Claude Ricou and Georges Van Gucht – driven by a common innovative will and a strong friendship, then decided to create a percussion ensemble : repertoire, choice of instruments, everything had to be invented… the « Groupe Instrumental à Percussion » was born and later became « Les Percussions de Strasbourg ».

The first concert was given at the ORTF, on January 17th, 1962, in the presence of French composer Serge Nigg. Very quickly, the ensemble inspires the creation of a new repertoire by composers such as Messiaen, Stockhausen, Serocki, Kabelac, Ohana, Xenakis, Mâche or Dufourt … As Pierre Boulez says later: « A repertoire was necessary for the Groupe, but the Groupe has made the repertoire necessary. »

In 1967, the six percussionists perform Ionization by Varese, in agreement with the composer, while the score requires the participation of… thirteen percussionists. They carried this off with musical mastery and dramatic brio and opened the doors of success to a hitherto unprecedented musical genre.

Thereafter, the Percussions de Strasbourg will create and innovate relentlessly, travelling all around the world in major international festivals, from Berlin to Osaka, Persepolis to Sydney, via Royan, Donaueschingen, Edinburgh, Athens, Israel, Sao Paulo, New York, Montreal, etc.

Through their many travels and a strong collusion with the composers, they actively contribute to the sound research and the invention of new instruments, such as the sixxen designed by Xenakis.

More than 50 years later, the team expands and gradually integrates the fourth generation of Percussions de Strasbourg. Constantly revisiting the contemporary heritage, innovating with the evolution of new technologies and the expansion of scenic practices and expression  : a challenge to invent and explore the wide field of world percussion in the 21st century.

The ensemble is also very active in pedagogy and develops many activities for everyone: masterclasses, workshops, concerts, educational or scholar concerts, Percustra collective creation workshops and training.