Pedro Amaral was born in Lisbon in 1972 and is considered one of the most active European musicians of his generation. A composer and conductor, he graduated from the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (1991–94) and the Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Paris (1994–98), where he was awarded First Prize in composition. He studied orchestral conducting with Emilio Pomàrico and Peter Eötvös. At the same time, he attended the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, where he completed a doctorate on Momente by Karlheinz Stockhausen, subsequently serving as his assistant.
Between 1998 and 2004, Amaral worked regularly at IRCAM and held the position of composer-in-residence at the Herrenhaus Edenkoben in Germany, the Villa Medici (French Academy in Rome), and the Lenzi Palace in Florence. As a professor at the University of Évora and a member of the National Academy of Fine Arts, he is the author of several works, including the operas O Sonho (London, 2010) and Beaumarchais (Lisbon, 2017).
As a conductor, Amaral regularly conducts a repertoire that spans from Viennese classicism to contemporary works. His complete recordings of Beethoven's Symphonies and Piano Concertos were broadcast on Portuguese television, while Petrouchka by Stravinsky was recorded for Spanish television. His interpretations of the symphonic repertoire of Bruckner, Mahler, and R. Strauss have received high praise from critics.
Pedro Amaral has also served as the Director of the National Conservatory Orchestra (2007–08), the Sond’Arte Electric Ensemble (2007–10), and the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra (2013–20).
