Anna Hegner was born in Basel into a respected family of musicians. Her father was Magnus Hegner, and her mother Anna Viccelio.[1] Hegner studied violin with Adolphe Ludwig Stiehle and Hugo Heermann, before attending the Hochsen Conservatory in Frankfurt.[2] Hegner became well known as a violin soloist. She was recognised for her concerts in Basel, Berlin, Leipzig and London. For some time she lived and worked in Frankfurt and was Paul Hindemith's private violin teacher.[2][3] She taught for three years in Basel.[2] In 1908 she moved to Münchenstein and there she organized classical concerts in the Catholic Church (also performing as soloist) and organized summer concerts in the small gorge behind her house.[1] She was the Basel Symphony Orchestra's first woman leader.[4]
She later lived in Freiburg-im-Brisgau and founded a string quartet there in 1911.[2] Hegner composed many violin pieces and some songs.[2]
She died in hospital in 1963 from the effects of an accident. Soon after her death, Anna-Hegner-Strasse was named after her and for a long time she was the only woman in the Basel area to be honored with a street name.[5]
