Rico Gulda (born 9 April 1968) is anÃÂ AustrianÃÂ classical pianistÃÂ andÃÂ conductor.
He was born in Zurich, as the third son of the prominent pianistÃÂ Friedrich GuldaÃÂ and the only child of his Japanese second wife, the pianist and composer Yuko Wakiyama.
He grew up in Munich and received his first piano lessons at the age of five. From the age of twelve, he studied withÃÂ ÃÂ and later with ÃÂ at theÃÂ University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.ÃÂ Master classesÃÂ withÃÂ Dmitri BashkirovÃÂ andÃÂ Oleg Maisenberg, as well as work with his father, Friedrich Gulda, rounded out his education.
Gulda performs as a soloist, in a chamber music ensemble, and with orchestras such as theÃÂ Vienna Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, theÃÂ Bruckner Orchestra Linz.
He has performed with his half-brotheràthe pianist , as well as with the pianists Paul Badura-Skoda andàMartha Argerich,àthe violinist Renaud Capuçon, the conductoràChristian Arming, the baritones Matthias Goerne and Michael Schade, among others.àHe has a long artistic collaboration and private friendship with the baritone Florian Prey.
He taught piano at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, the Hansei University in Seoul, and in master classes in Vienna, Vietnam, and Japan.
In 2013, he was promoted to head of artistic planning and dramaturgy of the Wiener Konzerthaus, where he served until 2025. In 2025, he took over the management of theàmusical and cultural activities asàgeneral directoràof the Esterházy Private Foundation. He is also artistic director of the Oberösterreichische Stiftskonzerte summer festival. He is a member of the "Piano Duo" jury of the triennial Franz Schubert and Modern Music Competition.