By Patrick Meade, Membership Engagement Manager
Where does creativity come from? That is the question that animated a December 2025 concert lecture delivered by clinical psychiatrist Richard Kogan (Weill Cornell Medical College) at the House of the Academy in Cambridge.
At this favorite annual event, members and guests were treated to a hybrid lecture and piano concert from Kogan, whose used the life and career of twentieth-century composer George Gershwin to illustrate the sources of creative impulse and true original thought. Kogan’s insights into the biography, relationships, medical history, and ultimately the psychology of Gershwin were punctuated by extended medleys of his most iconic compositions, including Rhapsody in Blue and the opera Porgy and Bess.
Kogan’s conclusion that creativity can be the product of a balance between rebellion and discipline as well as a reaction to “the worst that life has to throw at us” was reinforced by the contrast of the many tragedies and challenges of Gershwin’s short life with the transporting nature of his piano compositions.
As both a clinical professor of psychiatry and a concert pianist, Kogan embodies the fusion of arts and sciences–a blend that felt especially resonant for an Academy audience. In her opening remarks, President Laurie Patton underscored the Academy’s deeply held commitment to connecting across areas of expertise.
In addition to interdisciplinarity, the evening also served as a celebration of collaboration and camaraderie. Though he performed as a soloist, Kogan’s former musical partners and longtime friends Lynn Chang (Boston Conservatory at Berklee) and cellist Yo-Yo Ma were in attendance, with Chang providing a delightful introduction of his dear friend “Ricky.” The warmth of this lifelong bond, which began when the three played in a trio as undergraduate students at Harvard, lent a festive air to this member event.
