German Female Musicians

Hildegard of Bingen was a German writer, composer, Christian mystic, visionary, philosopher, polymath, and Benedictine abbess of the High Middle Ages. Apart from being the most-recorded composers of sacred monophony in modern history, Hildegard of Bingen is also widely regarded as the founder of scientific natural history.

Nico was a German musician, singer, and songwriter. Her work continues to serve as an inspiration to several musicians like Björk, Morrissey, and the English rock band The Cure. In 2017, Susanna Nicchiarelli directed Nico's biographical film titled Nico, 1988. Also an actress, Nico appeared in many films, including Andy Warhol's experimental underground film Chelsea Girls.

Kim Petras is a German singer-songwriter currently based in USA. She was assigned male at birth and underwent medical gender transition as a teenager. Interested in music from a young age, she began recording music as a teenager. Her debut single topped several viral music charts on Spotify. Since then, she has released many hit albums and singles. 

German singer/songwriter Gabriele Susanne Kerner, better known as Nena, soared to international fame with the hit 99 Luftballons. Known for her energetic performances, Nena is also a mother of four and has co-founded the Neue Schule Hamburg school, based on the American Sudbury model of education.

Lena Meyer-Landrut is a German singer-songwriter who rose to fame after participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Her debut album peaked at No.1 in Germany and was accredited Platinum. She has since released many hit albums and singles. Besides singing, she has also served as a coach on five seasons of the reality TV series The Voice Kids.  

Anne-Sophie Mutter had started learning the piano at age 5 but later switched to the violin. A prodigy, she first played for the Berlin Philharmonic at 13 and became a Royal Academy of Music fellow at 22. She is known for wearing custom-made designer strapless gowns while playing.

Clara Wieck Schumann was a German pianist, teacher, and composer. One of the most famous pianists of the Romantic era, Schumann changed the way concerts were conducted during her time and made a long-lasting impression as a pianist. She also influenced other pianists through her teaching; among her students were famous English pianist, Mathilde Verne.

One of the greatest classical violinists of the 21st century, Julia Fischer is also a skilled pianist. She first gained fame with her performances with conductor Lorin Maazel in New York. The German musician had started learning the violin at age 3 and the piano at age 4.

Born into a musical family, Ari Up began experimenting with punk music early in her life. At fourteen, she co-founded post-punk band, The Slits, releasing their debut album Cut in 1979 and her first full-length solo album, Dread More Dan Dead, in 2005. Known for her wild hair and odd stage outfits, she died at forty-eight after battling breast cancer.

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was a German pianist and composer of the early Romantic era. Many of her works were published under her younger brother Felix Mendelssohn's name due to the social conventions about the roles of women at that time and the reservations of her family. However, she has been getting the recognition that she deserves since the 1990s.

German singer Angela Gossow is best known to fans as the lead vocalist of the Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy. She is one of the few female singers who use death grunts as part of their performances. An atheist and a vegan, she is quite vocal about her opinions.

Nina Hagen is a German singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as an actress and gained fame as a singer during the punk and new wave movements in the 1970s and 1980s. Her parents are also actors and singers. Hagen is a voice-over artist as well. She is involved in human and animal rights activism. 

German singer-songwriter Zoe Wees soared to fame with her debut single, Control, which detailed her struggle with epilepsy. She followed it up with Girls Like Us. Raised by her mother, she first experimented with music as a child and often wrote her songs in English instead of German.

German-Japanese classical pianist Alice Sara Ott began learning the piano at age 5. At 13, she was the youngest finalist of the Hamamatsu International Piano Academy Competition ever. She has also designed bags and app stickers. In 2019, she announced on Instagram that she had been suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Caterina Valente is an Italian-French guitarist, multilingual singer, actress, and dancer. Valente, who sings in 11 languages, has worked with artists around the world. She has worked with international stars like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, and Chet Baker. One of her songs titled Bongo cha cha cha was used in the 2019 American film Spider-Man: Far From Home.

One of the best-known pop singers from Germany, Greek-origin Vicky Leandros is the daughter of famous Greek composer and musician Leo Leandros. She soared to international fame representing Luxembourg in Eurovision and later won countless awards, such as the Goldene Europa. She has also released hit tracks in Japanese.

The daughter of pianist parents, Olga Scheps discovered her love for piano at age 4. Born in Moscow, she later moved to Germany with her parents, where she began participating in musical events at age 12. She is best known for her interpretations of Classical and Romantic musicians.

German-Japanese pianist Mona Asuka Ott is also known as the sister of classical pianist Alice Sara Ott. She began participating in piano events at age 4, and by 11, she was already performing as a duettist with Marcello Viotti on TV. She has conducted for Munich Symphony Orchestra and others.

Born to pianist parents Robert and Clara Schumann, Eugenie Schumann grew up to be not just a fine pianist but also an author, who had penned her memoir, The Schumanns and Johannes Brahms. It is believed, she was in a long-term lesbian relationship with Austrian singer Marie Fillunger.