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, and acclaimed Nonesuch recordings, he has won a large and devoted following. In an extensive profile in The New Yorker, David Blum wrote: "What one remembers most from Goode's playing is not its beauty—exceptional as it is - but his way of coming to grips with the composer's central thought, so that a work tends to make sense beyond one's previous perception of it.... The spontaneous formulating process of the creator [becomes] tangible in the concert hall." According to the New York Times, "It is virtually impossible to walk away from one of Mr. Goode's recitals without the sense of having gained some new insight, subtly or otherwise, into the works he played or about pianism itself."

This season, Mr. Goode will also be heard in recital at Carnegie Hall in New York, in Chicago, Cleveland, at the Krannert Center of the University of Illinois, in Denver, Portland, OR, at Cal Performances in Berkeley, in Kansas City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, for the Orange County Philharmonic Society and the Washington Performing Arts Society. Orchestral engagements include the Boston Symphony with Herbert Blomstedt, St. Louis Symphony with David Robertson, the London Symphony under Sir Colin Davis, the Bayerische Staatsorchester Munich with Kent Nagano and the Tonhalle Orchester - Zurich.

The New Yorker : September 7, 2009

The Classical Style

GOINGS ON ABOUT TOWN Classical Notes by Russell Platt

....... It was Beethoven, who studied with Haydn, who brought the legacy of these composers into the Romantic age, a lesson made vividly clear on Richard Goode's new album, "Beethoven: The Complete Piano Concertos" (Nonesuch). His sterling collaborators, Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, represent the dynamic compromise that a new generation has made, deploying the concentrated power of modern orchestras while recognizing the stylistic discoveries of the period-performance movement. The result is a supple, measured lyricism that avoids selfindulgent extremes, an equipoise that the veteran Goode, as a successor to Rudolf Serkin, has developed entirely on his own. No one will be surprised by the humane and poetic qualities the pianist brings to the meditative Fourth Concerto, but in the concluding "Emperor" Concerto Goode offers truly revelatory playing, turning that shameless virtuoso showcase into a vibrant, three-dimensional creation.

THE NEW YORK TIMES Published: April 29, 2008

MUSIC REVIEW

A Poet of the Piano, in the Company of His Forebears

Richard Goode played works by Chopin and three other composers at “Free for All at Town Hall.”

By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER

Listening to the pianist Richard Goode playing Bach and Chopin on Sunday was a perfect, soul-soothing tonic after a busy week. He appeared as part of the lively series “Free for All at Town Hall,” juxtaposing works by those two composers, Beethoven and Debussy in a program that intelligently illuminated their connections.

...When Mr. Goode played Chopin after works by Bach, it made musical sense, and each composer benefited from the diligence of his approach. He played with the clean articulation and voicing essential to Bach’s music, which also highlighted the intricacies and counterpoint of the Chopin selections.

Conversely, he incorporated the singing lines fundamental to Chopin into his Bach, as in a glowing rendition of the Prelude and Fugue in C major (Book II), which opened the program, and the four sinfonias that followed. Mr. Goode fully exploits the potential of the modern piano, with fairly generous pedaling and vivid dynamic contrasts.

His pristine articulation and unsentimental approach were refreshing in Chopin’s Nocturne in C minor (Op. 48, No. 1), and he imbued the four mazurkas with contrasting colors and lilting grace.

Mr. Goode brought the poetry of his Chopin and the clarity of his Bach to Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, playing the opening Adagio with mystical introspection and the Allegretto with gentle restraint. The concluding Presto was a whirlwind of agitation. After intermission came 2 études from Debussy’s set of 12, which the composer dedicated to Chopin, calling him “the greatest of them all.”

The concert concluded with three works by Chopin, including the Scherzo No. 4 and the tumultuous Polonaise in F sharp minor. As an encore, Mr. Goode rewarded the exuberant audience with a lovely rendition of the Nocturne in E flat (Op. 55, No. 2).

4 stars Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

Erica Jeal 28 Febbraio 2008

Guardian

Ci sono pianisti che danno a Chopin una cattiva fama, usando le sue composizioni come veicolo di una appariscente ma fragile brillantezza . Poi c'è Richard Goode. Questo programma ci ha servito tre dosi di Chopin, ognuna preceduta da un autore che lo ha influenzato (Bach e Mozart) o da uno che non avrebbe potuto scrivere la sua musica senza di lui (Debussy). Ed è stato pensato e messo insieme con reverenza - o è stata solo un'impressione data dalla generosità di Goode con il pedale di sostegno nel pezzo di apertura , il Preludio in do maggiore dal Secondo Libro del Clavicembalo Ben Temperato di Bach, che ha reso le note riverberate come in una chiesa ?

..... in Mozart, Goode era rilassato,e ci ha dato una lettura del Rondò in la minore K511 introspettiva e fluida. Il primo dei 2 Studi di Debussy , Pour les Arpèges Composés, ci è arrivato con una fragilità struggente che ci faceva chiedere come potesse un pianista leonino come Goode produrre un suono così delicato. Poi ancora una volta Goode tornava a Chopin ed era un ritorno a casa. Ha trovato introspezione nella relativa semplicità delle Mazurche, e persino composizioni virtuosistiche come lo Scherzo Op 54 e la Polonaise Op 44 non suonavano come pezzi di bravura ad effetto.

.......nessuna mancanza tecnica; i trilli ravvicinati della fine del Notturno Op 62 No 1, erano perfettamente equilibrati, così come le corse di zucchero filato nell'Improvviso Op 36 , con Goode profondamente in comunione con il suo strumento, facendoci sopra le fusa .

E' stato un suonare dolce e maturo, la cui emozione era sentita in profondità ma trasmessa con misura. Ci vuole un pianista di gran classe per riuscirci.