Peter Arnstein was born in Evanston, Illinois, and attended public schools in Chicago and Champaign. By the time he graduated from high school, he knew he wanted to be a concert pianist and had already won competitions in Chicago and England, where his father, a specialist in British history at the University of Illinois, frequently took the family.

Peter proceeded to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, where he absorbed the grand tradition of Romantic piano playing from Robert Goldsand. He returned to the Midwest to earn a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois as a student of Joel Shapiro and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano degree from the University of Wisconsin as a student of Howard Karp. By the time he had completed his education, he had composed close to fifty piano pieces addressing performance problems for non-music majors which were subsequently accepted as the thesis for his D.M.A. degree. His playing was so highly regarded by the music faculties at the Universities of Illinois and Wisconsin that several years later they both independently recommended him as their sole candidate for the prestigious United States Cultural Ambassador Auditions in Washington, D.C.

Minneapolis, Minnesota has been Dr. Arnstein's home for twenty-five years. He has served as pianist and harpsichordist with the Minnesota Orchestra under Neville Marriner and Edo de Waart, composer-in-residence, arranger, and performer with the Sylmar Ensemble of woodwinds and piano, guest performer with the Macalester Trio, and accompanist for members of the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. He maintains a solo career in the Midwest and in Britain and has also given many concerts with violinist Michael Antonello. The two have produced six well- reviewed CDs under the MJA label. Dr. Arnstein is affiliated with the St. Paul Conservatory of Music in St. Paul, where he teaches piano and composition.

Dr. Arnstein continues to have a distinguished career as a composer. His chamber pieces have been performed in the Midwest and Britain to public acclaim. His teaching and performing pieces for children have also received enthusiastic reviews. He states that one of his teaching principles is to bring student performers into the twenty-first century while linking them to the classical traditions of the past.