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Friedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist who performed in both the classical and jazz fields.

Although most famous for his Beethoven interpretations, Gulda also performed the music of J. S. Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Debussy and Ravel. He is often included in lists of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.

Gulda expressed a wish to die on the birthday of the composer he most adored, Mozart, and in fact did so, on January, 27, 2000, at the age of 69, following heart failure. Gulda is buried in the cemetery of Steinbach near Attersee, Austria.

Like Glenn Gould, who was two years his junior, Gulda quickly became bored and disillusioned with the concert circuit, its rigid programmes, canons and dress codes. Even the compositions of "the great dead" seemed to alienate him, and he turned to ever more eccentric projects.

“When awarded the Vienna Beethoven Ring in 1969, he rejected it with grand gesture, one incident of many in a long and tortuous relationship with his home town. He played Mozart in Vienna's holy of holies, the Musikverein, tapping along with his feet. On another occasion, he and his girlfriend appeared on stage naked for a rendition of Schumann songs on the recorder….”