Margarita Höhenrieder

Pianist Margarita Höhenrieder enjoys high regard among connoisseurs, above all for her chamber-music partnerships, while also shaping a generation of students through her teaching.

Born in Munich in 1956, she has remained closely identified with that city throughout her professional life. Her training there began under Anna Stadler and Ludwig Hoffmann; after making her debut recital at age eleven she quickly captured prizes in international contests. Further study took her to the United States, where she worked with Leon Fleisher at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory of Music. Another decisive influence was Alfred Brendel, a pianist she came to regard as a close personal friend.

She has appeared as soloist with leading ensembles on both sides of the Atlantic, among them the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Leipzig’s Gewandhausorchester, and the New York Philharmonic. Chamber-music collaborations have linked her with Brendel as well as the Gewandhaus Quartet, clarinetist Sabine Meyer, and cellist Julius Berger. Contemporary music has figured prominently in her activities; an enduring connection with composer Harald Genzmer led to the dedication of his final major piece, Wie ein Traum am Rande der Unendlichkeit for flute and piano, which she premiered in 2009 alongside Emmanuel Pahud.

Teaching has formed an equally central strand of her career. Appointed professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg in 1984, she was then among the youngest music faculty members in Germany. In 1991 she joined the faculty of the Musikhochschule München.

Her discography encompasses numerous chamber-music releases and several solo albums. In 2003 she recorded the piano concertos of Robert and Clara Schumann with the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen under Johannes Wildner. Most of her recordings have appeared on the Solo Musica label, including the 2020 complete Beethoven works for cello and piano made with Julius Berger.