Magdalena Hoffmann was born in 1990 in Basel, Switzerland, and began studying harp at age six. She trained with Fabiana Trani in Düsseldorf, spent a year at the Royal Academy of Music in London studying with Skaila Kanga and Park Stickney, earned a diploma at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule, and completed a master’s degree at Munich’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater under Cristina Bianchi. She became principal harp of the Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck in 2014 and, since November 2018, has served as principal harp of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.

Hoffmann won two special prizes at the 2016 ARD International Music Competition in Munich and in 2021 signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Her 2022 debut album Nightscapes won the Opus Klassik Young Talent of the Year award, and she regularly collaborates with major conductors including Sir Simon Rattle and Kirill Petrenko. She is also known for interdisciplinary and educational projects, including a children’s theatre piece built around the harp.