Markus Pawlik is best characterized as one of the rare pianists of today who manage to combine sensitivity and expressiveness together with a phenomenal virtuoso technique. Born in Bremen in 1966, his talent was recognized at an early age as he began performing publicly at 7 and was the three-time winner of both the German National Young Musician's Competition and the Hamburg Steinway Competition. His development as a musician was influenced both by the German tradition through his studies with Karl-Heinz Kaemmerling at the Musikhochschule Hannover, and by the Russian school through his studies with Naum Grubert in Amsterdam.
In 1982, sent as the German representative to the first European Broadcast Union’s televised “Eurovision Young Musician of the Year” competition, Pawlik won the grand prize, which brought him much acclaim and began his international career. He has since pursued his performance career throughout Europe, North America and Asia.
As well as performing the classical and romantic piano repertoire, Pawlik enjoys exploring contemporary music. In 2003 he performed the world debut of a concerto written for him by Japanese composer Ichiro Nodaira in Berkeley under the direction of Kent Nagano, and in 2006 played the Japanese premiere at Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
Pawlik has been featured numerous times on radio and television including the farewell gala of former German president Carl Carstens. His recordings of the piano concerto by Moritz Moszkowski with the Polish National Radio Orchestra and two CDs with solo pieces by Max Reger and Ernst von Dohnanyi have been released under the Naxos label. His release SNAPSHOTS presents the piano works of American composer Peter Knell and Prokofiev's complete "Vision fugitives". He is currently organizing and producing several international concerts and a documentary film about the pianist and composer Artur Schnabel.
In addition to performing, Pawlik has given international master classes, has judged piano competitions and has taught as a guest lecturer at UCLA and the University of Arkansas.