Was born
in Moscow in 1961 and started playing the piano at the age of four being taught
by her mother, Valentina Strzizovskaja, who was a piano player at Radio Moscow.
From 1968 to 1976 Maria Ehrke-Urbanovic studied at a special school for music:
the girls'grammar school of the Tchaikovsky - conservatory being taught by
Prof. Biniatjana and Boris Schazkes. From 1980 to 1985 she was a student of
Arkadij Sevidov at the music education institute Moscow (today it is the
Academy Gnessin). From 1985 to 1988 she worked as a teacher of a piano class
and accompanied choir and string ensembles of the special choir shool for
children. She also worked as a accompanist and played the piano at the Academy
Gnessin. Since 1984 Maria Ehrke Urbanovc has given concerts with vocal and
instrumental soloists of Radio Moscow and recorded chamber music for the radio
and TV. From 1988 to 1994 she was a soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic where
she became a accompanist of the master class of the baritone Pavel Lissizian. She
also accompanied master classes in Russia, France and Germ any. Since 1995
Maria Ehrke-Urbanovic teaches accompanying at the "Hochschule für Musik “Hanns
Eisler” in Berlin. Since 1995 she has accompanied Prof. Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau in his interpretation classes.