Günter Pichler was born and raised in Kufstein, Tyrol, Austria. He was accepted at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna in 1955. He joined the Vienna Symphony as concertmaster under Wolfgang Sawallisch at the age of 18. At 21, he was made concertmaster by the Vienna Philharmonic thanks to a tie-breaking vote on his appointment by conductor Herbert von Karajan. 

In 1970 Günter Pichler founded the Alban Berg Quartett and was the first violin of this world-famous string quartet until it disbanded in 2008. 

From 1963 to 2009 he taught at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. From 1993 to 2012, he was a professor at Cologne University of Music. In 2007, he was appointed head of the International Institute for Chamber Music at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid. In addition, he teaches at several summer academies, including Pro Quartet Paris, Accademia Chighiana Siena and the Misqua Montreal. 

Many of his students received international prizes, have become concertmasters in important orchestras, or made a name for themselves with solo careers. Moreover, among his students are String Quartets such as the Artemis, Aron, Aris, Belcea,  Acies, Amaryllis, Casals, Cavaleri, Eliot, Fauré, Finzi, Notos, Minetti, Piatti, Simply, Schumann, van Kuijk, Vision, Voce and  the Trio con brio, Atos, Eggner, Morgenstern, Zadig Trios. 

In addition to his work with the Alban Berg Quartett and as a teacher, Günter Pichler started a career as a conductor. He has since conducted many orchestras on concerts and on tour, including the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Vienna and Israel Chamber Orchestras, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Orchestra della Toscana Firenze, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, the Hallé Orchestra, the Orchestre nationale de Lille, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders. In Japan, he has conducted all the great symphony orchestras such as the Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. From 2001 until 2006, he was the principal guest conductor of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa and has since become its artistic advisor.