Dame Mitsuko Uchida (Japanese: [miꜜtsu͍̥ko u͍ꜜtɕida], DBE (内田光子?), born 20 December 1948) is a classical pianist and conductor, born in Japan and naturalised in Britain. 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 has since 2013 been Artistic Director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival, the only musician to be its sole Artistic Director since co-founder Rudolf Serkin. She has also conducted several major orchestras.
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 enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music to study with Richard Hauser, and later Wilhelm Kempff and Stefan Askenase, and remained in Vienna to study when her father was transferred back to Japan after five years. She gave her first Viennese recital at the age of 14 at the Vienna Musikverein. She also studied with Maria Curcio, the last and favourite pupil of Artur Schnabel.