Gitti Pirner was only seven years old when she gave her first piano recital, and made her debut with Mozart's piano concert in A major KV 488 soon afterwards. She was a student of Erik Then-Berg in Munich before she advanced her studies in Rome with Guido Agosti. She owes important musical and artistic incentives to Wilhelm Kempff's courses, who later on stated that music was her calling. After that, Gitti Pirner felt herself drawn to Louis Hildebrand in Geneva, where she was awarded first prize at the International Music Competition of 1970. She subsequently played international concerts, performing as a soloist with numerous major orchestras conducted by Sergiu Celibidache, Kurt Eichhorn, Helmuth Rilling, Rudolf Kempe, and Franz Welser-Möst, to name but a few. She toured throughout Europe, Korea, Japan, and China. In addition to her career as a soloist, she regularly performs as Lied accompanist and chamber musician.
Gitti Pirner directed a masterclass at the Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Munich until 2013.