{{short description|German music producer (born 1963)}} {{distinguish|Frank Petersen (disambiguation){{!}}Frank Petersen}} {{About|the German music producer|the English footballer|Frank Peterson (footballer)}} {{BLP sources|date=November 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | background = person | name = Frank Peterson | image = Frank Peterson - 2025229 134106 2025-08-17 ZDF-Fernsehgarten - Sven - 5DS R - 0317 - 5DSR2217.jpg | landscape = yes | alt = Frank Peterson wearing a bright blue shirt and blue plastic-rimmed sunglasses, smiling directly at camera while leaning on something off-camera with right hand | caption = Peterson in 2025 | birth_name = <!-- leave empty if the same "name" --> | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1963|12|20|df=y}} | birth_place = Hamburg, Germany | origin = | genre = | occupation = Music producer | instrument = {{hlist|Piano|guitar|synthesizer}} | works = | years_active = <!-- YYYY–YYYY (or –present) --> | label = | publishers = | current_member_of = Gregorian | past_member_of = Enigma | spouse = <!-- Use article title or common name --> | partner = <!-- (unmarried long-term partner) --> | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} or {{Official URL}} --> }}
'''Frank Peterson''' (born 20 December 1963)<ref name="gregorian">{{cite web|title=Frank Peterson |url=http://www.gregorian-music.com/gregorian/en/a-peterson.php |website=gregorian-music.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905052911/http://www.gregorian-music.com/gregorian/en/a-peterson.php |access-date=27 December 2024|url-status=usurped |archive-date=5 September 2009 }}</ref> is a German music producer known for his work with Enigma and Gregorian as well as artists such as Sarah Brightman, Ofra Haza, and Andrea Bocelli.
==Life and career== {{More citations needed section|date=September 2025}}
Peterson was born in Hamburg, Germany.<ref name="gregorian" /> As a child, he learned to play the piano, synthesizer, and guitar, going on to work in a music store.<ref name="gregorian" /> It was here that he met Michael Cretu and became lead keyboardist for Sandra, appearing on her 1985 hit single "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena". In 1988, after Cretu married Sandra and the couple moved to Ibiza, Peterson joined them. He became a member of Cretu's new-age project Enigma, under the moniker "F. Gregorian", and contributed to the group's 1990 debut album, ''MCMXC a.D.''<ref name="gregorian" />
Peterson left Enigma in 1991 and returned to Hamburg to pursue other projects.<ref name="gregorian" /> He formed the group Gregorian with keyboardists Thomas Schwarz and Matthias Meissner, and they released the pop album ''Sadisfaction'' the same year, with Birgit Freud and Susana Espelleta (who was then married to Peterson) providing vocals as "the Sisters of Oz".<ref name="gregorian" /> Peterson subsequently put the project on hold and went on to work with English soprano Sarah Brightman, producing and contributing instrumentation to her albums ''Dive'' (1993), ''Fly'' (1995), ''Timeless'' (1997), ''Eden'' (1998), ''La Luna'' (2000), ''Harem'' (2003), ''Symphony'' (2008), ''A Winter Symphony'' (2008), and ''Hymn'' (2018). In 1995, he produced the song "Time to Say Goodbye" for the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and in 1997, he produced the eponymously titled final studio album by Israeli singer Ofra Haza.
In 1998, Peterson resurrected Gregorian as a group performing Gregorian chant arrangements of popular songs, moving away from its original pop style. His inspiration, as he stated in an interview, was the approaching new millennium and its spiritual aspect.<ref>Best, Sophie. [https://web.archive.org/web/20010828182429/http://theage.com.au/entertainment/2001/08/26/FFXR2DDASQC.html Q&A: Frank Peterson."] The Age. 26 August 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2006.</ref>
In 2008, he produced the studio album ''Drama'' by the German musical actress and singer Carolin Fortenbacher.
Peterson runs his own recording studio, called Nemo-Studios.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nemo-Studio |url=https://www.nemo-studio.de/ |website=nemo-studio.de |access-date=14 September 2025}}</ref>
===Lawsuit against Google/YouTube=== {{Update|section|date=September 2025}}
On 16 April 2009, ''Billboard'' magazine reported that Peterson had filed a lawsuit at the Higher District Court in Hamburg against Google/YouTube, claiming that his music videos and other audiovisual repertoire were used illegally.<ref name="billboard">{{Cite magazine|date=16 April 2009|title=German Composer Sues Google/YouTube|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/german-composer-sues-googleyoutube-1271824/|access-date=30 January 2021|magazine=Billboard}}</ref> In his lawsuit, Peterson claimed infringement of his copyrights and master rights.<ref name="billboard" /> He stated that more than 125 million streams of his productions—for which he owns the copyrights and master rights as author, publisher, and producer—had been viewed, for which he never received payment from Google/YouTube.<ref name="billboard" />
==Discography== ===Gregorian=== {{main|Gregorian (band)#Discography|l1=Gregorian discography}} {{div col}} * ''Sadisfaction'' (1991) * ''Masters of Chant'' (1999) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter II'' (2001) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter III'' (2002) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter IV'' (2003) * ''The Dark Side'' (2004) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter V'' (2006) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter VI'' (2007) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter VII'' * ''Dark Side of the Chant'' (2009) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter VIII'' (2011) * ''Epic Chants'' (2012) * ''Masters of Chant Chapter IX'' (2013) * ''Winter Chants'' (2014) * ''Masters of Chant X: The Final Chapter'' (2015) * ''Holy Chants'' (2017) * ''Pure Chants'' (2021) * ''Pure Chants II'' (2022) {{div col end}}
===As producer=== {{Incomplete list|date=September 2025}} {{columns-start}} '''Sarah Brightman''' * ''Dive'' (1993) * ''Fly'' (1995) * ''Timeless'' (1997) * ''Eden'' (1998) * ''La Luna'' (2000) * ''Harem'' (2003) * ''Symphony'' (2008) * ''A Winter Symphony'' (2008) * ''Hymn'' (2018) {{column}} '''Other artists''' * Ofra Haza – ''Ofra Haza'' (1997) * Carolin Fortenbacher – ''Drama'' (2008) {{columns-end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commonscat}} * [http://www.nemo-studio.de/ Nemo-Studios] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080327085416/http://www.gregorian-music.com/gregorian/en/a-peterson.php Gregorian Music – Frank Peterson bio (archived)] * {{IMDb name|0677152|Frank Peterson}}
{{Enigma}}
{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Frank}} Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Hamburg Category:German record producers Category:German keyboardists Category:Enigma (German band) members