- Biography -
Heidrun Holtmann was born in Münster, Germany, where she began her musical education at the age of four. Five years later she was accepted by the Music Academy of Detmold where she worked with Renate Kretschmar-Fischer and completed her studies with highest honours.
She gained a number of awards at national and international competitions, including the first prize at the prestigious “Concours Geza Anda" in Zürich 1982. Subsequently, Heidrun Holtmann was successful in establishing her reputation as a concert pianist. Appearances with conductors such as Antal Dorati, Ivan Fischer and David Zinman followed, and she performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich and numerous other symphony and chamber orchestras in Germany and abroad.
Heidrun Holtmann is a regular guest at international festivals, including Salzburg, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Lucerne, Stresa, Brescia/Bergamo, Klavier Festival Ruhr, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Bonner Klaviersommer, MDR-Musiksommer, Lockenhaus and Kuhmo and has toured in Europe, Japan, Taiwan, the USA, Canada, South America, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
She has frequently been featured on radio and television programmes, including a musical portrait and a televised concert of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 with the NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg and Klauspeter Seibel. A documentary was made by Swiss Television in Lugano of two early Mozart Piano Concertos with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and Marc Andreae and was later released on DVD by Euroarts.
Heidrun Holtmann's discography covers a wide range, including the complete works for piano and orchestra by R. Schumann with the Deutsche-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under the direction of Stefan Soltesz and several recital discs with compositions by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Scriabin, Debussy, Martin, Holliger and others.
Her latest release of Night Pieces (2CDs) contains works by various composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.
