Caroline Oltmanns is a pianist, presenter and pedagogue.
‘A star in the piano world’ (Donald Hunt, Pianist Magazine), she reveals in her playing a deep connectivity between music and culture. Her impeccable musical phrasing combined with an engaging stage presence have attracted audiences both in the US and abroad. Best described in a recent review, Caroline Oltmanns’ playing is ‘filled with fantasy in the greatest sense of the word’ (Dr. Ursula Adamski-Stoermer, Bayerischer Rundfunk). Critics have raved about her 'clear, light and scintillating tone' (Guy Engels, Pizzicato), and her uninhibited lyricism and understated power (Jeremy Reynolds, ClevelandClassical).
Caroline Oltmanns has recorded seven solo CDs on the Filia Mundi label. Her newest concept album WIND was recorded in the prestigious Reitstadel in Germany and was released in 2022. Event highlights of the 2022/2023 season include concert appearances in the United States, in Switzerland, and in the UK. Previous concert seasons have included concerto appearances with Youngstown Symphony Orchestra (Randall Craig Fleischer), Johnson City Symphony Orchestra (Robert Seebacher), Harburger Orchester Academie (Rainer Schmitz), and Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra (William Slocum). Caroline Oltmanns presented recitals at Steinway Hall and Weill Recital Hall in New York City, Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, and the Redlands Bowl and Leo Bing Theater in Los Angeles.
Caroline Oltmanns has commissioned, premiered and recorded numerous new works including concertos for piano and large ensemble by James Wilding, Till McIvor Meyn, Edward Largent, Rainer Schmitz, Dave Morgan, and Tom Janson.
Her playing has been heard on radio stations in Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Cape Town. Radio interviews in Germany have been broadcast on Bayern IV, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Süddeutscher, Rundfunk, Radio Bremen, Hessischer Rundfunk and Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Televised interviews and performances include Bayerisches Fernsehen, Channel 25 Chicago, and KVCR-TV San Bernadino.
A Professor of Piano at Youngstown State University, Caroline Oltmanns has presented master classes and workshops in the United States, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, South Africa, Canada, and China. She serves as a regular screening member of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, and she recently was appointed to the board of Living the Classical Life.
Caroline Oltmanns has initiated and supported several philanthropic causes through regular benefit appearances including 88 Hearts for Youngstown, an endowed fund to support scholarships for piano students.
Caroline Oltmanns received her early pianistic training in her native Germany based on the Walter Gieseking and Karl Leimer traditions. She is a Fulbright Scholar, International Steinway Artist, a Steinway Spirio Recording Artist, and recipient of substantial awards through the Annette-Kade- Stiftung and the Stipendium der deutschen Wirtschaft. She earned her Diploma at the Staatliche Musikhochschule Freiburg and her Master's and Doctoral degrees at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Her musical mentors were Robert Levin, John Perry, Vitaly Margulis and Malcolm Frager.