Pianist Stefan Irmer studied piano with Günther Ludwig at the Musikhochschule Köln, and at the Musikhochschule Detmold with William Schnurr in addition to specializing in piano accompaniment study under the guiding hand of Hartmut Höll. Irmer is an advocate of neglected keyboard music and has established a reputation for excellence in piano music of the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. He has recorded Rossini's Pechés de Viellesse and has a continuing survey of the piano music of Muzio Clementi for MDG. He also works as a competition judge and is much in demand as an accompanist for singers. Irmer has taught piano at the Musikhochschule Köln since 1992.