Born in Munich, supported by the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, Hollfelder studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.
His teachers were Franz Dorfmüller, Erik Then-Bergh and Friedrich Wührer.
[1] As Prize winner of the Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler [de] (1957/58), he went on a big tour of Germany.
He found international recognition after piano recitals in the Tonhalle, Zürich and the Wigmore Hall.
In 1963, Hollfeder went to the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, whose chair for piano he held until 1996.