Born in Munich, Hofstetter studied organ, piano and conducting at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in his hometown.

A review noted that "Michael Hofstetter's well-chosen tempos, elegant yet unfussy phrasing, and precise control of dynamics propel the opera with real excitement".

[5] From 2006 to 2012, he was chief conductor of the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, conducting premieres of works by Moritz Eggert and Helmut Oehring.

[3] Hofstetter was professor of orchestral conducting and Early Music at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz.

[9] Hofstetter was nominated as Conductor of the Year several times, for Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Opernhaus Dortmund in 2000,[7] for Hasse's Didone abbandonata at the Prinzregententheater in Munich in 2011,[3] and in 2013 for his work as GMD in Gießen,[3] which included Handel's Agrippina[10] and Weber's Der Freischütz.