Peter Marschik

Peter Marschik has led a dual career in music as pianist and conductor. He has served as the pianist in the Beethoven Trio and conductor of various ensembles, most notably of the Vienna Boys Choir, with whom he has made numerous popular recordings and given countless concerts. One could extend his resume further by adding he was a singer in his youth and has fashioned many choral arrangements for the Vienna Boys Choir. For the VBC, Marschik has served as the ensemble's choirmaster and later its artistic director. He has also worked with many other choral and orchestral ensembles, including the Vienna State Opera and its chorus, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and chorus, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Academy of London, and many others. He has made numerous recordings, most of them with the Vienna Boys Choir and Beethoven Trio. They are available on Philips, Capriccio, and other major labels. Peter Marschik was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1958. He studied music at the Vienna Musikhochschule, from where he graduated in 1981. Marschik initially performed as a concert pianist and chamber music player and served many years as the pianist in the well-known Beethoven Trio. While performing as a pianist Marschik often appeared in the role of conductor, particularly in choral music. He began his association with the Vienna Boys Choir in the 1980s as the ensemble's choirmaster, but from 1991-1996 he served as artistic director. During his years with the VBC he toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas and made several notable recordings. Among them was the 1993 Philips CD Around the World -- International Folk Songs, and the 1995 Handel Messiah, on Capriccio. Following departure from his post with the VBC in 1996, Marschik has remained quite busy, especially on the podium, leading many orchestras in concert and making several highly acclaimed recordings. It should be noted, too, that Marschik has been unafraid to tackle risky repertory: he led performances of Malipiero's neglected opera I Capricci di Callot, a recording of which was released to great acclaim on the Capriccio label in 2002. Marschik has also performed and recorded many standards, like Haydn's The Creation. His Capriccio CD of the work, from 2005, was another critical success. In the new century Marschik has served as guest conductor of the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, an ensemble with which the Vienna Boys Choir often performs.