Austrian clarinettist Peter Schmidl was born in Olmütz, Bohemia-Moravia, on June 10, 1941. Born into a family of musicians, including his father Viktor Schmidl and grandfather Alois Schmidl, who was principal clarinettist in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustav Mahler, he took his first piano lessons at the age of six and learned clarinet with Rudolf Jettel at the Vienna Academy of Arts from 1959 to 1964. Although he also performed in the theater, it was to music that he turned for good, joining the Wiener Staatsoper in 1965, then the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, becoming principal clarinet in 1968. In addition to his orchestral work, he participated as soloist in numerous concerts and recordings with the greatest conductors, including Karajan, Böhm, Sandor Végh, Ozawa, Menuhin, Prévin, Levine, Muti, Harnoncourt and Tilson Thomas. He also collaborates with chamber music ensembles such as the Wiener Oktett, the Wiener String Quartet, the Wiener Ring-Ensemble and the Wiener Bläsensolisten. In 1967, Peter Schmidl began teaching at the Academy of Performing Arts in Vienna. He subsequently held other positions such as Artistic Director of the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Intendant of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (2001-2005) and of the Salzburg Festival (2004-2007). Peter Schmidl died in Vienna on February 1, 2025, at the age of 83.
