Ruth Laredo (born 20 November 1937, in Detroit) was an American classical pianist. Born Ruth Meckler, she studied with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music. In 1960, she married violinist Jaime Laredo, serving as his accompanist before transitioning to a solo career in 1974. Laredo gained recognition for the recording of Alexander Scriabin’s The Complete Piano Sonatas (1970), the first complete cycle on record. Between 1974 and 1981, she recorded the complete solo piano works of Sergei Rachmaninoff for CBS Masterworks. Often referred to as “America's First Lady of the Piano,” the career featured the series Concerts with Commentary (1988–2005) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her discography earned three Grammy nominations,. Laredo died of ovarian cancer on 25 May 2005 in New York City. Posthumous honors included the establishment of the Ruth Laredo Memorial Prize in 2007.
