Richard has a distinguished career both as a psychiatrist and as a concert pianist. When he was nine, he was accepted at The Juilliard School of Music Pre-College Division, where he majored in music and during later years simultaneously completed a pre-medical curriculum at Harvard College. He then went on to Harvard Medical School under a five-year plan that enabled him to travel and perform concerts. After receiving his MD degree, he completed a psychiatry residency and an academic fellowship at New York University. Dr. Kogan is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, the Artistic Director of the Music and Medicine Program, and has a private practice in psychiatry in New York City.
Dr. Kogan has received praise for his lecture-concerts that explore the role of music in healing and the influence of psychological forces and psychiatric illness on the creative output of the great composers. A master storyteller, he has captivated audiences at medical conferences, music festivals, universities and scholarly symposia throughout the world. He has talked and played on the PBS series Now Hear This.