The Hofmann Sisters: Pillars of the Schlager Realm

By David Hillier
CSMR UK Correspondent

LONDON, ENGLAND -- The Hofmann Sisters are a mainstay of the schlager music realm who, after two decades of performing, continue to turn out a steady stream of schlager hits, play to packed houses on multi city tours and remain a regular presence on German and Austrian television.

Anita and Alexandra Hofmann

The Geschwister Hofmann (The Hofmann Sisters), blonde Alexandra and dark-haired Anita, were born, in 1974 and 1977 respectively, in Sigmaringen, a small town on the Upper Danube in south Baden-Württemberg.

Both still live in nearby Messkirch and are very proud to represent their “heimat” (hometown) in their own country and on the wider stage.

Alexandra got married in 2001 and now has two children, but the two sisters continue to perform together.

Both women are multi-talented musically. In addition to singing, they play and incorporate into their act a wide variety of musical instruments.

The first major production in which they featured together was a two-hour musical show in May 1988. Next year they started their own music show, a mix of rock and roll, folk, and pop, and they quickly built up a strong following in their home region. Soon afterwards they began to make regular appearances on national television

Their first CD was released in 1990 and they have continued to record and win awards on a regular basis since. In 1993, they won Grand Prix of Folk Music with the delightful song “Alle Farben dieser Erde” (All Colours of the Earth). While there are later, and perhaps more polished, video performances, this clip shows what they were like near the beginning of their careers.




They achieved their first gold record in 2003 going on to win the prestigious Crown of Folk Music in 2004 and 2006, and the Golden Tuning Fork in 2003 and 2005.

In January 2008 they opened their 20th Anniversary Tour in Messkirch which took them to some 70 cities in Germany, Austria, Belgium and France, celebrating their two decades together in show business.

The occasional well performed medley of ABBA hits aside, they do not normally stray far from the traditional genres of schlager and volksmusik.

They do, however, have a great sense of fun. And here we see them performing a lively Germanized pastiche of American country and western music in which they end up displaying some very short hot pants indeed.



Our final clip shows Anita and Alexandra Hofmann performing their 2011 uptempo hit “Wir Singen Bella Musica” (We sing pretty music) from their latest album “Wir Fliegen” (We fly).



They still wear traditional dirndl and more contemporary shapely long dresses, which have throughout their careers served to highlight their undoubted charming femininity.

As a result of their 20+ years of performing together, The Hofmann Sisters (Geschwister Hofmann) exude a seasoned professionalism punctuated with their customary vibrance and joie de vivre and are major stars in the world of Germanic schlager music.