Gerhard Oppitz

Pianist Gerhard Oppitz is noted for his complete recorded cycles of the music of various composers. He was a longtime member of the faculty at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. Oppitz's mentor was pianist Wilhelm Kempff, whom he met in 1973. The regard was mutual; before his death, Kempff stated that he thought Oppitz could continue the pianistic tradition of which he himself was a part. In 1978, he recorded his first LP. As a recording artist, Oppitz focused mostly on mainstream repertory from Mozart to the late 19th century, but as a performer, he also often played modern works. Oppitz has made one of the few recordings of Max Reger's difficult Piano Concerto, Op. 114. In 2023, he released an album of Schumann's piano works. By that time, his recording catalog comprised some 75 CDs, plus LPs from the late '70s and early '80s.