Meet people through music
"Uchida is, simply, Uchida - an elegant, deeply musical interpreter who strikes an inspired balance of head and heart in everything she plays." - Chicago Tribune Mitsuko Uchida (born December 20, 1948) is a classical pianist. Born in Atami, a seaside town close to Tokyo, Japan, Uchida moved to Vienna, Austria when she was twelve with her diplomat parents, and she enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music to study with Wilhelm Kempff and Stefan Askenase. In 1969 she won the first prize in the Beethoven Competition in Vienna and in 1970 the second prize in the Chopin Competition. In 1975 she went on to win second prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition. She is an acclaimed interpreter of the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin. She has recorded all of Mozart's piano sonatas and concerti with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Tate. She is also distinguished as an interpreter of the works of the Second Viennese School. She has conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with various works of Mozart for piano and orchestra. She is featured with Dame Felicity Lott in the 2005-06 season of the Cleveland Orchestra. She is the Artistic Director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival, together with the American pianist Richard Goode. She is also a trustee of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, an organisation that focuses on helping young artists to develop their international careers. Uchida currently resides in London.