Pianist Mitsuko Uchida given classical honour
Pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida is to receive the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Gold Medal, one of the highest honours in classical music.
Celebrated for her performances of Mozart and Schubert, she was described as a "peerless musician" by the RPS. Dame Mitsuko will join modern-day gold medallists including Alfred Brendel, Pierre Boulez, Sir Simon Rattle, Placido Domingo and Daniel Barenboim. She will be presented with the medal at the RPS Awards in London on 8 May. The 63-year-old was born in Japan and moved to Vienna at the age of 12 with her diplomat father. She has lived in London for more than 35 years and was made a Dame in 2009. Her previous honours include a Grammy Award in 2010 for best instrumental soloist. The Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal was launched in 1870 to mark the centenary of Beethoven's birth and has been given to figures including Brahms, Elgar, Stravinsky, Britten and Bernstein.