Uwe Berkemer first took piano lessons at eight years of age. When he was fourteen years old he was admitted to the class of Gisela Verron at the Dr. Hochs-Conservatory Franfurt and very soon attracted attention with his success in the contests “Jugend musiziert” (Young People play Music).

While studying at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt in the soloist class of Professor Joachim Volkmann, he founded a piano duo in 1986 with the Egyptian pianist Hatem Nadim, which became especially successful internationally during the 90’s. In additional to great success in a number of competitions (Murray Dranoff Con-test for Two Pianos in Miami, USA 1991) the duo recorded several CD’s, had radio and TV appearances and was very busy with concert activities.

Berkemer fascinated his audience as well as the media as a solo pianist during numerous piano concert evenings. Eminent contemporary composers such as Heinz Werner Zimmermann dedicated compositions to him.

In the late 90’s his emphasis on piano shifted increasingly toward chamber music. Among his regular chamber music partners were the American cellist Alexander Suleiman, the Geogian violinist Bela Makharadze, to whom he has been married since 2000, the German mezzo-soprano Margarete Joswig and others.

In the year 2003 he founded the Trio Kaukasia, together with Bela Makharadze (violin) and Lali Andghuladze (viola), a formation which is specialized in the rare trio repertory for violin, viola and piano.

Further chamber music ensembles, in which he regularly performs as pianist, are the World Chamber Trio as well as the World Chamber Piano Quintet.