Born in 1966, Max Richter trained in composition and piano at Edinburgh University, at the Royal Academy of Music, and with Luciano Berio in Florence. The Richter family moved to the UK from Germany when Max was a young child, leaving the wider part of his family distributed around Germany. This sense of rootlessness affected his musical formation. On completing his studies, Richter co-founded the immensely successful contemporary classical ensemble Piano Circus, where he stayed for ten years, commissioning and performing works by Arvo Pärt, Brian Eno, Philip Glass, Julia Wolfe and Steve Reich. Richter was also proactive in developing the group's use of live sampling. In 1996 he worked closely with The Future Sound of London on their release 'Dead Cities'. Initially involved as a pianist, he ended up co-writing a track (which they subsequently titled 'Max'). Following this, Richter collaborated with FSOL over a two-year period on the album 'The Isness', with his input ranging from programming or piano playing to arranging, mixing, co-producing and co-writing various tracks. Max's orchestrations have also graced 'In The Mode' by drum'n'bass pioneer Roni Size. In June 2002, Richter released his debut solo album, 'Memoryhouse' via the BBC classical label, Late Junction, followed in March 2004 by the release of 'The Blue Notebooks' on FatCat's 130701 imprint, which saw the start of a ten-year relationship with the label, during which time he also released 'Songs From Before' (2006), '24 Postcards In Full Colour' (2008), 'Infra' (2010), and a reissue of 'Memoryhouse' (2009).

Hailed as the most influential composer of his generation, electro-acoustic polymath Max Richter defies definition: composer he may be, but he is also a pianist, producer, remixer, and collaborator, and beyond argument one of the most prolific of contemporary musical artists. Beyond his recorded work, Max's monumental collaborative output also encompasses concert music, operas, ballets, art and video installations, and multiple film, theatre and television scores. The over 50 films featuring Max’s work and specifically-written scores include Ari Folman’s multiple award-winning 'Waltz with Bashir' (for which Max was awarded the European Film Prize), Martin Scorsese’s 'Shutter Island' and Damon Lindelof’s first television project post-LOST, HBO’s 'The Leftovers'. Theatre productions include Alan Cumming’s triumphant solo version of Macbeth on Broadway, and the National Theatre of Scotland’s internationally lauded 'Black Watch'. Ballets include his many collaborative ventures with maverick Royal Ballet resident choreographer Wayne McGregor, with his works also being used by, amongst others, The Joffrey Ballet, Nederlands Dans Teatre, Lucinda Childs, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Dutch National Ballet, Dresden Semper Oper, Ballet du Rhin, Northern Ballet. Art Collaborations include work with photographer Darren Almond at the White Cube, with Julian Opie on McGregor’s ballet 'INFRA', and with visual art collective Random International on 'Rain Room' at the Barbican and MoMA, and 'Future Self' at Lunds Konsthall in Sweden.

In 2014, Max signed to Deutsche Grammophon, where his profile continues to soar. Recent releases include a recomposed version of Vivaldi's 'The Four Seasons' (2014), 'Sleep' (2015) and 'Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works' (2017).