Vladimir Ashkenazy

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Biography

Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (, Vladimir Davidovic Aškenazi; born July 6, 1937) is a Russian-Icelandic Conducting|conductor and pianist . Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland , his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen , near Lucerne in Switzerland . He is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra .

Life

Ashkenazy was born in Gorky, Soviet Union (now Nizhny Novgorod , Russia ), to the pianist and composer David Ashkenazi and to the actress Yevstolia Grigorievna, born Plotnova. His father was Jews|Jewish and his mother was the daughter of a family of Russia n Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox peasants., The Independent , 3 October 2008 (retrieved 23 October 2008) http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/? cat_id=16567& ew_0_a_id=275815

He began playing piano at the age of six and, showing prodigious talent, was accepted to the Central Music School at age eight studying with Anaida Sumbatyan . Ashkenazy went on to graduate from the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky , winning second prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and the first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels in 1956. He shared the first prize in the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Competition with United Kingdom|British pianist John Ogdon . As a student, like many in that period, he was harassed by the KGB to become an "informer." He did not really cooperate, and despite pressures from the authorities, in 1961 married the Iceland -born Þórunn Jóhannsdóttir, who studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory. To marry Ashkenazy, Þórunn was forced to give up her Icelandic citizenship and declare that she wanted to live in the USSR.

After numerous bureaucratic procedures, the Soviet authorities several times agreed to the Ashkenazys to go to the West for musical performances and for visits to his parents-in-law with their first grandson, but in 1963 Ashkenazy decided to leave the USSR permanently, establishing residence first in London where his wife's parents lived.

Ashkenazy moved to Iceland with his wife in 1968 and became an Icelandic citizen in 1972. In 1978, the couple, with five children (Vladimir Stefan, Nadia Liza, Dimitri Thor, Sonia Edda, and Alexandra Inga), moved to Switzerland.

Career

Vladimir Ashkenazy is renowned for his performances of Romantic music|Romantic and Music of Russia|Russian composers.

He has recorded Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach 's The Well-Tempered Clavier ; the complete 24 Preludes and Fugues (Shostakovich)|24 Preludes and Fugues of Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich ; the complete sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven and Alexander Scriabin|Scriabin ; the complete works for piano by Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rachmaninoff , Frédéric Chopin|Chopin and Robert Schumann|Schumann ; and seven of Franz Liszt|Liszt 's 12 Transcendental Études. He has also recorded the piano concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart (conducting from the keyboard with the Philharmonia Orchestra ); Beethoven (with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Georg Solti|Sir Georg Solti ; with Zubin Mehta and the Vienna Philharmonic ; and conducting from the piano with the Cleveland Orchestra ); Johannes Brahms|Brahms ( Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)|No. 1 with Bernard Haitink and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra|Concertgebouw Orchestra ; and Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms)|No. 2 with Bernard Haitink and the Vienna Philharmonic); Béla Bartók|Bartók (with Georg Solti and the London Philharmonic Orchestra ); Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev (with André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra ); and Rachmaninoff (with André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra, and with Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orchestra). In public performances, Ashkenazy was known for rejecting a tie and button shirt in favor of a white turtleneck; and for running (not walking) onstage and offstage to the piano. He has also performed and recorded chamber music.

Midway through his pianistic career, Ashkenazy branched into conducting. He has particularly been praised for his recordings of orchestral works by Jean Sibelius|Sibelius , Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky .

He was the principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from 1987 to 1994 and was principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic from 1998 to 2003. He became musical director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2004.

Besides these positions, Ashkenazy is conductor laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra , conductor laureate of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra , and music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra , with which he performs regularly.

Ashkenazy has also appeared in several Christopher Nupen music films, conducting extracts from the composer profiled, including Ottorino Respighi and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and performing at the piano.

He succeeded Gianluigi Gelmetti as the chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in January 2009.

He has also made his own orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky 's piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition (1982).

There has been a CD produced of his works named 'The Art of Ashkenazy', and a biography of Ashkenazy, 'Beyond Frontiers', has been published.

In February, 2012, he will conduct the Sydney Symphony for their 80th birthday season, starting with Metamorphosen (Strauss), and Beethoven's 9th Symphony (performed with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs).

Awards and recognition

1955 International Chopin Piano Competition , Warsaw (Second prize)

1956 Queen Elisabeth Music Competition for piano, Brussels

1962 International Tchaikovsky Competition , Moscow

2000 Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award , with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducting corps

Current president of the Rachmaninoff Society .

; Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) :

16th Grammy Awards|1974 Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven : List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven#Concertos|The Piano Concertos (Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Georg Solti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

; Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance :

21st Grammy Awards|1979 Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven : List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven#Violin sonatas|Sonatas for Violin and Piano ( Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy)

24th Grammy Awards|1982 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky : Piano Trio (Tchaikovsky)|Piano Trio in A minor (Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell )

30th Grammy Awards|1988 Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven : List of compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven#Piano trios|The Complete Piano Trios (Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell)

; Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)|Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance :

28th Grammy Awards|1986 Maurice Ravel|Ravel : Gaspard de la nuit ; Pavane pour une infante défunte ; Valses nobles et sentimentales (Ravel)|Valses nobles et sentimentales

42nd Grammy Awards|2000 Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich : 24 Preludes and Fugues (Shostakovich)|24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

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1. Sergei Nakariakov 2. Glenn Gould 3. Frederic Chopin 4. Mahler 5. Boston Symphony Orchestra 6. Itzhak Perlman 7. Jon Lord 8. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 9. Sydney 10. Dietrich Fischer Dieskau 11. Robert Schumann 12. Ormandy 13. Sergei Rachmaninoff 14. Dejan Lazic 15. Michael Ponti 16. Vienna Philharmonic 17. Sergei Rachmaninov 18. Sergey Rachmaninoff 19. Howard Shelley

Undetermined Music Artists