Bernd Goetzke was born in Hanover. Already at the age of 13 he was admitted to the university, where he studied with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling until his Soloist's Diploma in 1975.

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An important figure in his career was Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, who considered him his last student. He also studied with Claudio Arrau and Willhelm Kempff.

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Bernd Goetzke became a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 1978, which launched his career to the full. 

At the age of 25, he was appointed as a teacher at the  Hanover University of Music and Drama. Today he is one of the most sought after piano teachers in the world.  

In his 40-year career as a teacher, his students collected the most important prizes in the world: at least 15 of them became winners or laureates of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, in 2018 his pupil Yekwon Sunwoo won 1st prize at the Van Cliburn Competition etc...

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Bernd Goetzke was a jury member of the Tchaikovsky Competition, Chopin Competition, Busoni Competition, ARD  Competition and countless others.