Currently serving as the principal cellist of both the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Péter Somodari often appears with renowned musicians in chamber music concerts. He is a member of the Altenberg Trio and has collaborated with such artists as Nicolas Costantinou, Leonidas Kavakos, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Alexei Lubimov, Truls Mørk, Miklós Perényi, Boris Pergamenschikow, Christian Tetzlaff, Tabea Zimmermann, the composer György Kurtág, and the Toyota Orchestra.
He was also a member of the Keller Quartet (2001-04) and the Budapest Strings Chamber Orchestra (1997-2001) where he often appeared as a soloist in addition to being their principal cellist. Furthermore, he was also a member of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra as well as the principal cellist of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra (2004-12).
Péter holds degrees from the Hochschule für Musik in Saarbrücken and the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He has studied, among others, with professors such as László Mező, Miklós Perényi, Gustav Rivinius, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág, and having had the opportunity to receive such important enlightenment, today he is regarded as one of the foremost cellists of his native Hungary. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the fi rst prize at the 2005 International Music Competition in Markneukirchen.
Péter has already recorded two albums, and is currently a visiting professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien).
