Press

“One of the best pianists of his generation”

— The Philadelphia Inquirer

“...pristine technique, abundant vitality, fascinating attention to detail and a composer’s grasp of overall structure.”

— The New York Times

“A phenomenon”

— Los Angeles Times

“...bold, bright, and magnetic.”

— San Francisco Classical Voice

“Goodyear is a pianist of tremendous clarity and precision. He has a beautiful, silver sound, with perfectly lucid trills that must be the envy of his colleagues.”

— Gramophone

Stewart Goodyear, pianist

Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times and "one of the best pianists of his generation" by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished concert pianist, improviser and composer. Mr. Goodyear has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world.

Orchestral highlights of Mr. Goodyear’s 2025-26 season include performances with the Baltimore, Greenwich, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Vancouver Island, Virginia, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras, the Boise, Boulder, and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestras, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in the UK, and Philharmonie Südwestfalen in Germany. Mr. Goodyear also gives his debut at the Eastman School of Music’s Piano Series and returns to the Grant Park Music Festival for its 2026 summer season. In the previous season, Mr. Goodyear was featured at the BBC Proms with the Chineke! Orchestra, returned to the Phillips Collection (Washington D.C.), and performed with the Indianapolis, Toronto, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras, including a Canadian national tour with the Vancouver Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, Frankfurt Museumgesellschaft, and A Far Cry in Boston.

Mr. Goodyear is also active as a composer. In 2019, Orchid Classics released his performance recording of his suite for piano and orchestra, "Callaloo" and his piano sonata. His recent commissions include an orchestral work for the Chineke! Orchestra, his Piano Quintet for the Penderecki String Quartet, and a piano work for the Honens Piano Competition. Mr. Goodyear’s suite for solo violin, "Solo" was recorded by violinist Miranda Cuckson on the Urlicht Audiovisual label, and his work for cello and piano, "The Kapak" was recording by cellist Inbal Segev on the Avie Records label.

Mr. Goodyear's discography includes the complete sonatas and piano concertos of Beethoven, as well as concertos by Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Rachmaninov, an album of Ravel piano works, and an album, entitled "For Glenn Gould", which combines repertoire from Mr. Gould's US and Montreal debuts. His Rachmaninov recording received a Juno nomination for Best Classical Album for Soloist and Large Ensemble Accompaniment. Mr. Goodyear's recording of his own transcription of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker (Complete Ballet)", was chosen by The New York Times as one of the best classical music recordings of 2015. His discography is released on the Orchid Classics, Naxos, Analekta, Bright Shiny Things, Marquis Classics, and Steinway and Sons labels. Mr. Goodyear released his recording of Prokofiev’s 2nd and 3rd Concertos with Andrew Litton and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the composer’s 7th Sonata, on Orchid Classics in September 2024.

Mr. Goodyear is a Steinway Artist.