“Mari Kodama impressed with her noble touch, carefully measured use of the pedal, and meticulous attention to detail. The Adagio [from Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto, op.19] was particularly striking: dreamy yet incisive, noble in character, and shaped with great sensitivity for delicate, quiet sounds. Für Elise, familiar to everyone, was played with such finesse in the Hall of Mirrors that one felt as though they had never before heard such musical beauty.”

– Oberbayerisches Volksblatt

Mari Kodama is consistently praised for her virtuosity in a wide range of repertoire, including orchestral, chamber and solo works by composers of all periods. She is also known for her natural musicality, tonal expressiveness with a clear form, and as a benchmark Beethoven interpreter.

In the 2026/27 Season, Mari Kodama showcases her diverse talents through a range of international concert appearances, including recitals of 32 Beethoven piano sonatas combined with newly commissioned works by Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier at Konzerthaus Blaibach, Halle Runde Nagoya, Dresden Music Festival, La Scala Paris and Del Valle Fine Arts, in addition to her returning appearance with Würth Philharmoniker, Berkeley Symphony and first collaboration with Fondazione Arturo Toscanini and Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Recent highlights include a debut duo recital with Momo Kodama at Lucerne Festival, regular appearances with Filarmonica de Stat Transilvania, an open-air concert with Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, debut concerts with National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan, Haydn Orchester in Bolzano and Trento, and returning to Orchester der KlangVerwaltung at Herrenchiemsee Festival and Japan Philharmonic. She collaborates with conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Kent Nagano, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Christoph Urbański, Jonathan Nott, Lan Shui and Kahchun Wong.

As a further demonstration of her versatility, Kodama returns to the Staatsoper Hamburg in the 2026/27 season for John Neumeier’s production of Death in Venice, following her participation in the company’s acclaimed Beethoven Projekt II in previous seasons. In recital, she has collaborated with Markus Hinterhäuser, featuring Messiaen’s Visions de l’Amen, with Momo Kodama for Piano Duo Concerto Tours and with Rebekka Hartmann, featuring Beethoven violin sonatas alongside new works by Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier. She also directed the Beethoven Festival ‘A Life in a Day’ in San Francisco and presented all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas over two days by 14 different soloists.

Beethoven’s piano works form a focal point of Mari Kodama’s recording activities with Pentatone and Berlin Classics. She is one of few female pianists to have recorded the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, with her acclaimed 2014 Pentatone box set earning widespread critical praise for its artistry and distinction. Her nuanced portrait of Bruckner’s piano works (October 2024) received equally strong reviews from a host of publications. In autumn 2019 she released a Box of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos.0–5, including Rondo for piano and orchestra, the triple concerto and Eroica Variations for Piano Solo with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Kent Nagano (Berlin Classics) Kodama’s latest releases are Mozart’s Concerti for two pianos and three pianos, and Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Through her performing activities, Mari Kodama has brought infrequently heard gems of the piano repertoire to global audiences. She has performed Stenhammar’s Piano Concerto No.2 in Gothenburg and New York, Alban Berg’s Chamber Concerto for Piano and Violin in collaboration with Viviane Hagner, Jyväskylä Sinfonia and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In 2013, she premiered Jean-Pascal Beintus’ Double Piano Concerto with Momo Kodama and Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and in 2021 gave the world premiere of Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier’s piano concerto with Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. She also gave the Canadian premiere of Jörg Widmann’s Valse bavaroise.

In addition to her performances, Mari Kodama plays an active role as a music festival Artistic Director. She co-founded the Forest Hill Musical Days Festival, a chamber music festival in San Francisco, with her husband Kent Nagano, and has led the chamber music series at the Orford Music Festival. In 2018, she assumed artistic directorship at the Festival Tra Luce e Sogno in Postignano, Italy, for which she secured artists such as Christian Gerhaher, Matt Haimovitz and Gerold Huber, among others. Mari Kodama is a Steinway Artist.