All 32 Beethoven sonatas. One day. One pianist.
Composer, pianist, and one of the foremost Beethoven interpreters of his generation — Stewart Goodyear has built a career out of what few others attempt.
A composer’s mind at the keyboard.
Stewart Goodyear belongs to one of music’s oldest and rarest traditions: the composer-pianist. Toronto-born, of Trinidadian and British heritage, he has recorded the complete Beethoven sonatas and concertos, performed all 32 sonatas in a single day, and built a catalogue of original work — from his suite Callaloo to commissions for ensembles on both sides of the Atlantic. Whatever the stage, he plays as if speaking directly to every person in the hall.
“A phenomenon.”
— Los Angeles Times
“Intelligent virtuosity and stylish affinity.”
— Gramophone
“One of the best classical recordings of the year.”
— The New York Times
A remarkable achievement — pristine technique, infectious energy and fascinating attention to detail.
ANTHONY TOMMASINI · THE NEW YORK TIMES
Music of His Own Making
Goodyear is a composer first and always. His suite Callaloo bridges the classical world and the calypso of his Trinidadian summers; his transcription of Tchaikovsky’s complete Nutcracker was named by The New York Times among the best recordings of its year. Commissions from the Chineke! Orchestra, the Penderecki String Quartet, and the Honens International Piano Competition continue a single pursuit — bringing something genuinely new into the concert hall.
All of Beethoven, in a Single Day
Few pianists will perform all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Goodyear performs them in one day — a feat he has brought to Koerner Hall, McCarter Theatre, the Mondavi Center, and beyond. He has recorded the complete sonatas and the complete concertos, and in 2027 he performs the entire concerto cycle with the Louisville Orchestra. This is Beethoven from the inside out, played by an artist who composes himself.
A Larger Stage
Goodyear’s audiences cross every age and background, and he intends to keep widening the circle. The draw is connection — a player who reaches the back row as surely as the front, music shaped by his Trinidadian and British roots, and an artistic world that extends well beyond the recital hall.
In 2027, the complete Beethoven concertos.
Stewart Goodyear performs the entire cycle of Beethoven’s five piano concertos with the Louisville Orchestra — the kind of undertaking that defines a career, from an artist who has recorded the complete Beethoven and performs all 32 sonatas in a single day.