Stewart Goodyear, pianist
Known for imagination, a graceful, elegant style, and exquisite technique, 26-year-old Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished young artist whose career is on the rise. His Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra subscription debut took place in 2003 under the baton of Paavo Järvi. He first came to the attention of Cincinnati audiences in his Cincinnati Pops debut at Riverbend in 1992 at the age of 14 performing Rhapsody in Blue conducted by Erich Kunzel, and he made his Music Hall Pops debut with Maestro Kunzel in September 1992.

A native of Toronto, Canada, Stewart Goodyear holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School of Music where he studied with Oxana Yablonskaya. He also studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman and Claude Frank.

Recent highlights of Mr. Goodyear’s recent schedule included debuts with the Atlanta Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 2003 he debuted with the Chicago Symphony under Daniel Barenboim, Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by Pinchas Zukerman.

In recent seasons, Mr. Goodyear debuted with San Francisco Symphony led by Paavo Järvi, toured the United States with the Toronto Symphony led by Jukka-Pekka Saraste and collaborated with the National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada led by Pinchas Zukerman and Lawrence Foster. He also appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, as well as the Montreal and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras. Following his New York debut with Emmanuel Krivine and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra in 1999, he was the guest soloist for the final Japan tour of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz. In addition, Mr. Goodyear has appeared at festivals such as Caramoor, Santa Fe and Ravinia.

In addition to his talents as a pianist, Mr. Goodyear is a composer and frequently performs his own works, including his solo piano work, Variations on “Eleanor Rigby,” which was given its premiere at Lincoln Center in August 2000, and his Piano Sonata, both of which receive continual acclaim by critics and audiences. He has written by commission for the Toronto Youth Symphony for its 25th anniversary, as well as for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

Stewart Goodyear is one of the rare classical musicians who improvises his cadenzas when performing concertos from the classical period. He has been praised repeatedly for the inspiring individuality and appreciation of the composer’s own style that he conveys in every performance. After a performance of Mozart’s Concerto K. 467 with the Philadelphia Orchestra in January 2000 the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: “The cadenzas were where the real magic was. In them, Goodyear produced surprising harmonies, turning familiar melodies on their head by giving them new context. He led back into the tutti sections in a particularly daring and exhilarating way with fully formed ideas, keeping the listener guessing whether the end was really in sight. All the cadenza material had an improvised feel, and in fact, Goodyear was writing them as we listened.”