Born in Leipzig in 1948, Peter Cossé studied in Frankfurt and philosophy and sociology in Salzburg. From 1971 to 1989 he was a music critic at the Salzburger Nachrichten.
Peter Cossé is also a contributor to numerous anthologies (The Great Persons in History/Kindler), specialized periodics such as Klassik heute (klassik-heute.com), Fono Forum, Neue Musikzeitung, ?sterreichische Musikzeitschrift, Record Geijutsu Tokyo, Opernwelt, Diapason/Paris, Musica and newspapers (Neue Z?rcher Zeitung, Frankfurter Rundschau, Standard/Wien, Tagesspiegel/Berlin).

He is also an active international lecturer and seminar leader at high schools and festivals (Salzburg, Graz, Bremen, Weimar, Max Reger Festival /Weiden) as well as a designer for program booklets and conception creator for, among many others, Philips, Great Pianists of the 20th Century series, Salzburg Festival, Lockenhaus Chambermusic Festival, Cologne Music and Klavierfestival Ruhr (he was the artistic consultant for the latter from 1996–1998).

Cossé was awarded the Critics Prize at Styrian Atumn Festival in Graz.

Cossé is the creator of countless radio broadcasts and reports for ORF, RIAS Berlin, Bavarian Radio, West German Radio (among them more than 300 broadcasts focusing on piano performing) and of film projects for ARD and 3SAT about Ferruccio Busoni, Julius Reubke, the Macau Festival and the Géza Anda Competition in Z?rich.

Peter Cossé has served as a juror at international recording competitions as well as music competitions, among them Géza Anda Competition (Z?rich), Franz Liszt, Joseph Joachim, Louis Spohr (Weimar), Busoni (Bolzano), Paloma O’Shea (Santander), Van Cliburn (Fort Worth), Sviatoslav Richter (Moscow), Schubert and the Modern Music (Graz).