Vita ENGLISCH

Tilman Hoppstock (* 1961)
studied cello and guitar in Darmstadt and Cologne. During this time he played as a cellist in the orchestra for several years and was later a permanent member of a string quartet. At the young age of 22, his concert tours took him around the globe (to London, Paris, Athens, Jerusalem, New York, San Francisco, Montreal, Tokyo, Mexico City, Singapore and many other culturcentres of the whole world).

At the age of 24 - after 250 concerts as a soloist and chamber musician - he took an 11-year break from solo concert life and worked in the recording studio from then on. This resulted in many CD productions, which laid the foundation for his return to the concert stage in 1996. His discography now includes around 40 CDs, which have received several awards (including the “Deutscher Schallplattenpreis” and “Chitarra d’Oro”).

The pianist Alexis Weissenberg once described his playing as a "play of light and shade of infinite sound worlds", Gustav Leonhardt admired the elegance and perfection of his interpretations in 1994 and the guitar magazine Les Cahiers de la Guitar even said in 1998: "Tilman Hoppstock's playing, his sensitivity as well as the palette of tone colours and nuances, but also the extraordinary articulation of his playing make him one of the greatest guitarists of this century".

Tilman has received invitations to the Royal Academy (London), the Manhattan School of Music, the University of South California (Los Angeles) and also held a visiting professorship at the University of Piteå (Sweden) from 2003 to 2005. 2021 he was guest professor at the University in Alicante (Spain) for the program “Master Classical Guitar”. For over 30 years, his work at the Darmstadt Music Academy with students from all over the world has also been a matter close to his heart.

In addition to his work as a concert artist, Tilman Hoppstock has also made a name for himself as the editor of around 120 sheet music editions (including in his PRIM music publishing house, founded in 1994). With three book publications (one as a doctorate) on Bach's lute works, he has also gained an international reputation as a musicologist. His Urtext sheet music edition of Bach's lute works is just as much a standard work for many guitarists all over the world as his publications of Schubert songs with guitar accompaniment.

In 2006, Schott published a globally acclaimed Urtext edition of Manuel Ponce's solo works. The Urtext edition of all of John Dowland's solo works in guitar transcription, published together with Olaf van Gonnissen, also caused a sensation (published in 2018-2024).

In 2013, he received the Darmstadt Music Prize for his artistic life's work. In 2026, he became the first German guitarist to be honoured with induction into the Guitar Foundation of America’s ‘Hall of Fame’ (the equivalent of an Honorary Oscar in the world of film).

He has a soft spot for crime novels, Russian literature and ducks. He is also a passionate art lover and enjoys wines, especially reds from France and Italy. Tilman Hoppstock lives in Darmstadt (Germany).

(CV for download look at Press Kit)