von Eckardstein was born as a member of the v on Eckardstein noble and baronial family since 1799  and as the son of entrepreneur Ludolf Freiherr von Eckardstein (1945) and translator Margret-Sophie Kosegarten (1936). He discovered the piano by accident in the house of neighboring children and was so fascinated by it that his parents gave him a piano as a gift on his sixth birthday. Eckardstein studied  piano  in his hometown. His first teacher was a Hungarian, and after that he was taught by the Polish Barbara Szczepanska. Later he studied with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the conservatory in  Hanover , and then at Klaus Hellwig.

von Eckardstein has won several international competitions such as the ARD Concours (where he came second in 1999), the Leeds Concours (where he took third prize in 2000) and the José Iturbi Concours (where he won second prize in 2002). . On June 8, 2003, Severin von Eckardstein won the first prize of the international  Queen Elisabeth Competition  with the following pieces of music:  Ludwig van Beethoven , (1770-1827), Sonata No. 27 in E minor opus 90,  Ian Munro , Dreams, composed in 2002, required part and  Sergei Prokofiev  (1891-1953), Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16. According to the jury, the combination of Beethoven and Prokofiev was phenomenal.