"Uchida is, simply, Uchida – an elegant, deeply musical interpreter who strikes an inspired balance of head and heart in everything she plays." - Chicago Tribune Mitsuko Uchida (born December 20, 1948) is a classical pianist. Born in Atami, a seaside town close to Tokyo, Japan, Uchida moved to Vienna, Austria when she was twelve with her diplomat parents, and she enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music to study with Wilhelm Kempff and Stefan Askenase. In 1969 she won the first prize in the Beethoven Competition in Vienna and in 1970 the second prize in the Chopin Competition. In 1975 she went on to win second prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition.