Wolfgang Brunner (1958, Regensburg) received his first piano lessons from his father, while he was still a high school student. After getting his diploma, in 1981, he studied Music Education at the Music Academy of Munich, where he graduated cum laude. From 1982 to 1986 he studied piano with Hans Leygraf at the Music University “Mozarteum” in Salisbury. From 1985 to 1989 he studied harpsichord with Liselotte Brandle, Kenneth Gilbert, and Glen Wilson, fortepiano with Eckart Sellheim and Richard Fuller, and historic performance with Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Since 1985 he has been a teacher of historical keyboard instruments, basso, piano, historic and didactic piano at the Mozarteum University of Salisbury. Also, from 1990 to 1992, he teaches fortepiano at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe.

From 1989, he basically played in all of the most important music festivals (including the ones in Utrecht, Bruges, and Herne) and he is considered as one of the greatest and best performer of his generation. His partners are well-known musicians of the “early music scene” genre, such as Michael Schopper, Barbara Schlick, Gerd Türk, Konrad Hünteler or the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. He also worked as a soloist and continuist with famous conductor, such as Sandor Vegh, Franz Welser-Möst, Helmuth Rilling, Sylvain Cambreling (including the Salisbury Festival.)

In 1991 he founded the music ensemble “Salzburger Hofmusik,” which is mostly, but not exclusively, dedicated to the music from the XVII – XIX centuries, performed on original instruments and that occupies a relevant position within the court of Salzburg’s musical repertoire. Under the name of Wolfgang Brunner, valuable recordings and radio broadcasts are listed, as well as first recordings of compositions with the piano of Anton Bruckner, E.T.A.Hoffmann, songs of Carl Orff and Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s opera “Arminio”.

Beside this, Wolfgang Brunner worked many years with dance studios, and became passionate about the dance’s history. In this context, he studied musical art, theatrical, and folklore in Munich and Salzburg. Brunner was also a teacher of history of the dance, and published several articles and encyclopaedic entries (MGG article, “Arbeau” and “Branle.”)