Richard Goode has been hailed for music-making of tremendous emotional power, depth and expressiveness, and has been acknowledged worldwide as one of today’s leading interpreters of Classical and Romantic music. In regular performances with the major orchestras, recitals in the world’s music capitals, masterclasses in person or online, and through his extensive and acclaimed Nonesuch recordings, he has won a large and devoted following.
An exclusive Nonesuch recording artist, Goode has made more than two dozen recordings over the years, ranging from solo and chamber works to lieder and concertos. His 10-CD set of the complete Beethoven sonatas cycle, the first-ever by an American-born pianist, was nominated for a Grammy and has been ranked among the most distinguished recordings of this repertoire. Other recording highlights include Mozart piano concerti with Orpheus, with whom he launched the 2021 season at New York's 92nd St Y.
A native of New York, Richard Goode studied at the Mannes College of Music and the Curtis Institute. His numerous prizes over the years include the Young Concert Artists Award, First Prize in the Clara Haskil Competition, the Avery Fisher Prize, and a Grammy award for the Brahms Sonatas recorded with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman.
Mr. Goode served, together with Mitsuko Uchida, as co-Artistic Director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival in Marlboro, Vermont from 1999 through 2013. Participating initially at the age of 14, at what the New Yorker magazine recently described as "the classical world's most coveted retreat," he made a notable contribution to this unique community over the 28 summers he spent there. In Fall 2021, Mr. Goode joined the Peabody Conservatory as Distinguished Artist Faculty. For the 2025-26 season, Mr. Goode joins The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra as its newest Artistic Partner.
He is married to the violinist Marcia Weinfeld, and, when the Goodes are not on tour, they and their collection of some 5,000 volumes live in New York City.
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Photo credit: Steve Riskind
“Every time we hear him, he impresses us as better than we remembered, surprising us, surpassing our expectations and communicating perceptions that stay in the mind.”