Mitsuko Uchida

Japanese-English classical pianist and conductor.

Dame

Mitsuko Uchida

DBE

内田光子

Uchida with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, 2016

Born|  (1948-12-20) 20 December 1948 (age 76)

Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Citizenship|

* Japan
* United Kingdom

Occupation(s)| Classical pianist, conductor
Years active| 1972–present
Title| Co-artistic director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival (with Jonathan Biss)
Partner| Robert Cooper
Website| mitsukouchida.com

Dame Mitsuko Uchida, (内田光子; [ɯtɕida miꜜtsɯ̥ko]; born 20 December 1948) is a Japanese-English classical pianist and conductor. Born in Japan and naturalised in England, she is particularly notable for her interpretations of Mozart and Schubert.

She has appeared with many notable orchestras, recorded a wide repertory with several labels, won numerous awards and honours (including Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2009) and is the co-artistic director, with Jonathan Biss, of the Marlboro Music School and Festival.[1] She has also conducted several major orchestras.

## Life and career

[edit]

Born in Atami, a seaside town close to Tokyo, Japan, Uchida moved to Vienna, Austria, with her diplomat parents when she was 12 years old, after her father was named the Japanese ambassador to Austria. She is the youngest of three children.[2] She enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music to study with Richard Hauser and later Wilhelm Kempff and Stefan Askenase.[3] She gave her first Viennese recital at the age of 14 at the Vienna Musikverein. Uchida also studied with Maria Curcio, the last and favourite pupil of Artur Schnabel. She remained in Vienna to study when her father was transferred back to Japan after five years.[4][5]

She was awarded tenth prize at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in 1968, playing Beethoven, Debussy, and Gaston Brenta in the finals.[6] In 1969 Uchida won the first prize in the International Beethoven Piano Competition Vienna [de][7] and in 1970 the second prize in the VIII International Chopin Piano Competition.[8] In 1975, she won second prize in the Leeds Piano Competition.[3]

In 1998 Uchida was the music director of the Ojai Music Festival in conjunction with conductor and violinist, David Zinman.

She is an acclaimed interpreter[9] of the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy and Schoenberg. She has recorded all of Mozart's piano sonatas (a project that won the Gramophone Award in 1989) and concerti, the latter with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Tate. Her recording of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto with Pierre Boulez won another Gramophone Award. Uchida is further noted for her recordings of Beethoven's complete piano concerti with Kurt Sanderling conducting, Beethoven's late piano sonatas, and a Schubert piano cycle. She is also respected as a distinguished interpreter of the works of the Second Viennese School.[10]

Her 2009 recording of the Mozart piano concertos nos. 23 and 24, in which she conducted the Cleveland Orchestra as well as playing the solo part, won the Grammy Award in 2011.[11] This recording was the start of a project to record all the Mozart piano concertos for a second time, conducting the Cleveland Orchestra from the piano. Further recordings for this project were released in 2011, 2012 and 2014.[12]

From 2002 to 2007 she was artist-in-residence for the Cleveland Orchestra, where she led performances of all Mozart's solo piano concertos. She has also conducted the English Chamber Orchestra, from the keyboard. In 2010, she was artist-in-residence for the Berlin Philharmonic. She was senior artist at the Marlboro Music School and Festival in 1974 and 1992, and has been permanently associated with Marlboro since 1994 when she became a member of the Committee for Artistic Direction. In 1999 she became one of two artistic directors along with fellow pianist Richard Goode. She served as the sole director until 2018 when Marlboro Music announced that American pianist Jonathan Biss would assume the role of co-artistic director.[1] She is also a founding trustee of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust, an organisation established to help young artists develop and sustain international careers.[13] In May 2012, the Royal Philharmonic Society announced that she would be honoured with their Gold Medal (she received the society's annual Music Award in 2003); previous recipients have included Johannes Brahms (1877), Frederick Delius and Sir Edward Elgar (1925), Richard Strauss (1936), Igor Stravinsky (1954), Benjamin Britten and Leonard Bernstein (1987).

Her 2015 performance with the Cleveland Orchestra elicited this review from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

> Call it the mark of a master. Just when Mitsuko Uchida was starting to seem predictable, the goddess of purity, the pianist goes and exhibits another persona altogether. Performing Mozart again with the Cleveland Orchestra Thursday, the pianist-conductor treated listeners to a heartier, more robust version of her art. More than just the layout of the strings, she rearranged, in a refreshing manner, her very sound.[14]

Her 2022 recording of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations[15] was nominated for a Grammy for Best Classical Instrumental Solo[16] and won a Gramophone Piano Award.[17]

On 2 July 2024, The Times published a letter to the editor, co-signed by Uchida and numerous other Catholic and non-Catholic public figures, calling upon the Holy See to preserve what they describe as the "magnificent" cultural artifact of the Catholic Church's Traditional Latin Mass. [18]

## Honours and awards

[edit]

* 1986: Suntory Music Award[19]
* 1989: Gramophone Award for Best Instrumental Recording, for her set of the complete Piano Sonatas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[20]
* 2001: Appointed Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2001 New Year Honours. At the time, the award was honorary because she was not yet a citizen of the United Kingdom.[21]
* 2001: Gramophone Award for Best Concerto Recording, for her recording of the piano concerto of Arnold Schoenberg (with Pierre Boulez conducting)[20]
* 2003: Uchida was elected an international member of the American Philosophical Society[22]
* 2008: In April, BBC Music Magazine presented her its awards for Instrumentalist of the Year, and Disc of the Year (Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata).[23]
* 2009: She was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours.[24] On this occasion, the award was substantive,[25] as she had become a British citizen.
* 2009: In June, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music (DMus) degree by the University of Oxford during Encaenia 2009.[26]
* 2011: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) for her recording of Mozart's Piano Concerti No. 23 K. 488 and No. 24 K. 491 with the Cleveland Orchestra, which she conducted from the keyboard.
* 2012: in May, Uchida was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, one of the highest honours in classical music.[27]
* 2015: in January, Uchida was awarded the Gold Medal of the Foundation (Stiftung) of the Mozarteum University of Salzburg[28]
* 2015: Praemium Imperiale, awarded by the imperial family of Japan[29]
* 2017: Grammy Award for the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album (as accompanist) with Dorothea Röschmann[30]
* 2022: Gramophone Classical Music Awards – Piano Category (Beethoven Diabelli Variations)[31]
* 2024: Honorary Academic of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.[32][33][34]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Mitsuko Uchida & Jonathan Biss, Artistic Directors". Marlboro Music Festival. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
2. ^ "Mitsuko Uchida | Biography, Music, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
3. ^ a b "Uchida, Mitsuko", Grove Music Online, 2007. Accessed 3 June 2007. (subscription required)
4. ^ Immelman, Niel (13 April 2009). "Maria Curcio". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
5. ^ "Maria Curcio". Telegraph.co.uk. 7 April 2009. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
6. ^ "Mitsuko Uchida". queenelisabethcompetition.be (in French). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
7. ^ "History – 16th International Beethoven Piano Competition Vienna". Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
8. ^ "Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina". Konkursy.nifc.pl. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
9. ^ Jean-Pierre Thiollet, 88 notes pour piano solo, "Solo nec plus ultra", Neva Editions, 2015, p. 51. ISBN 978 2 3505 5192 0.
10. ^ Hunt, Brian, "Rekindling the very grandest of passions", The Daily Telegraph, 2 April 2001; accessed 22 September 2009.
11. ^ "Mitsuko Uchida Wins Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With Orchestra)". Grammy.com. 15 February 2011.
12. ^ "Mitsuko Uchida – Reviews". Decca Classics.
13. ^ "Borletti-Buitoni Trust: Making a Difference". Southbank Centre. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
14. ^ "Mitsuko Uchida treats Cleveland Orchestra crowd to bright, robust Mozart (review and gallery)". Cleveland.com. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
15. ^ Uchida, Mitsuko; Beethoven, Ludwig van (2022). Diabelli Variations. New York: Decca. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
16. ^ "Grammy Awards 2023: The Full List of Nominees". The New York Times. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
17. ^ "Gramophone Piano Award 2022". Gramophone. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
18. ^ "Letters to the editor". The Times. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
19. ^ "Suntory Music Award Awardees" (PDF). Suntory.com. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
20. ^ a b "Artist". Gramophone.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
21. ^ "New Year Honours 2000 – Honorary appointments". Bbc.co.uk. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
22. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
23. ^ "Mitsuko Uchida takes BBC's classical top spot" (Press release). Retrieved 6 January 2020.
24. ^ "No. 59090". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 2009. p. 7.
25. ^ Honorary awards are specifically listed as such, and are not usually gazetted
26. ^ "Oxford University Gazette, 5 February 2009". Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
27. ^ "Pianist Mitsuko Uchida given classical honour". BBC News. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
28. ^ Kriechbaum, Reinhard. "Einmal Gold, zweimal Silber". Drehpunktkultur.at. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
29. ^ "Artists honored with Japan's Praemium Imperiale awards". Reuters.com (Press release). Reuters. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
30. ^ "Grammy Award winners 2017: Complete list". The Washington Post. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
31. ^ "Gramophone Piano Award 2022". Retrieved 17 March 2024.
32. ^ Buongiorno, Enrica (18 May 2024). "Antonio Florio nominato tra gli Accademici di Santa Cecilia". Il Mattino. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
33. ^ "Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia". La Folla. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
34. ^ "Santa Cecilia, direttore Antonio Florio nominato accademico". Ansa. 17 May 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Borletti-Buitoni Trust
* David Dubal interview with Mitsuko Uchida on YouTube, WNCN-FM, 1 December 1985
* Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major (Mitsuko Uchida, piano, Proms 2013) on YouTube
* Erica Jeal, 'Musical moments' (profile of Mitsuko Uchida), The Guardian, 25 February 2006. Accessed 1 February 2008.
* Allan Kozinn, "A Keyboard Alchemist Exploring the Haze", The New York Times, 29 April 2005. Accessed 17 June 2024.
* "Transcript: Mitsuko Uchida", Andrew Ford, The Music Show, ABC (Australia), 1 July 2006. Accessed 17 June 2024.
* Andrew Lindemann Malone, 'From Pianist Uchida, Daring, Intense Mozart', The Washington Post, 17 November 2005, Page C02. Accessed 1 February 2008.

* v
* t
* e

Gramophone Hall of Fame

Conductors|

* Claudio Abbado
* John Barbirolli
* Daniel Barenboim
* Thomas Beecham
* Leonard Bernstein
* Karl Böhm
* Pierre Boulez
* Adrian Boult
* Benjamin Britten
* Sergiu Celibidache
* Riccardo Chailly
* Colin Davis
* Gustavo Dudamel
* Wilhelm Furtwängler
* John Eliot Gardiner
* Carlo Maria Giulini
* Bernard Haitink
* Nikolaus Harnoncourt
* Christopher Hogwood
* Mariss Jansons
* Herbert von Karajan
* Carlos Kleiber
* Otto Klemperer
* Rafael Kubelík
* James Levine
* Charles Mackerras
* Neville Marriner
* Zubin Mehta
* Yevgeny Mravinsky
* Riccardo Muti
* Eugene Ormandy
* Antonio Pappano
* Trevor Pinnock
* Simon Rattle
* Fritz Reiner
* Georg Solti
* Leopold Stokowski
* George Szell
* Michael Tilson Thomas
* Arturo Toscanini
* Bruno Walter

Singers|

* Thomas Allen
* Victoria de los Ángeles
* Janet Baker
* Cecilia Bartoli
* Jussi Björling
* Montserrat Caballé
* Maria Callas
* José Carreras
* Enrico Caruso
* Feodor Chaliapin
* Joyce DiDonato
* Plácido Domingo
* Kathleen Ferrier
* Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
* Kirsten Flagstad
* Renée Fleming
* Angela Gheorghiu
* Nicolai Ghiaurov
* Tito Gobbi
* Thomas Hampson
* Marilyn Horne
* Hans Hotter
* Dmitri Hvorostovsky
* Gundula Janowitz
* Jonas Kaufmann
* Simon Keenlyside
* Emma Kirkby
* Anna Netrebko
* Birgit Nilsson
* Jessye Norman
* Anne Sofie von Otter
* Luciano Pavarotti
* Leontyne Price
* Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
* Joan Sutherland
* Renata Tebaldi
* Kiri Te Kanawa
* Bryn Terfel
* Fritz Wunderlich

Keyboardists|

* Leif Ove Andsnes
* Martha Argerich
* Claudio Arrau
* Vladimir Ashkenazy
* Alfred Brendel
* Emil Gilels
* Glenn Gould
* Friedrich Gulda
* Marc-André Hamelin
* Angela Hewitt
* Vladimir Horowitz
* Stephen Hough
* Wilhelm Kempff
* Evgeny Kissin
* Gustav Leonhardt
* Lang Lang
* Dinu Lipatti
* Radu Lupu
* Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
* Murray Perahia
* Maurizio Pollini
* Sergei Rachmaninoff
* Sviatoslav Richter
* Arthur Rubinstein
* András Schiff
* Artur Schnabel
* Grigory Sokolov
* Mitsuko Uchida

String/brass/
woodwind players|

* Maurice André
* Dennis Brain
* Julian Bream
* Pablo Casals
* Kyung Wha Chung
* Jacqueline du Pré
* James Galway
* Arthur Grumiaux
* Jascha Heifetz
* Heinz Holliger
* Steven Isserlis
* Fritz Kreisler
* Gidon Kremer
* Yo-Yo Ma
* Wynton Marsalis
* Albrecht Mayer
* Yehudi Menuhin
* Nathan Milstein
* Anne-Sophie Mutter
* David Oistrakh
* Emmanuel Pahud
* Itzhak Perlman
* Jean-Pierre Rampal
* Mstislav Rostropovich
* Jordi Savall
* Andrés Segovia
* John Williams

Ensembles|

* Alban Berg Quartett
* Amadeus Quartet
* Beaux Arts Trio
* The King's Singers
* Takács Quartet
* The Tallis Scholars

Producers/engineers/
record label executives|

* Emile Berliner
* Bernard Coutaz
* John Culshaw
* C. Robert Fine
* Fred Gaisberg
* Klaus Heymann
* Alain Lanceron
* Walter Legge
* Edward Lewis
* Goddard Lieberson
* Richard Mohr
* Ted Perry
* Kenneth Wilkinson

Portals:

* Biography
* Classical music

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Australia
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Latvia
* Croatia
* Poland
* Israel
* Finland

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* MusicBrainz
* Grammy Awards
* FID

People|

* Trove
* Deutsche Biographie

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template