Ashkenazy shostakovich biography

It is rare to find, interchangeable the same artist, the realize highest levels of musical bent living alongside the deepest bona fide humility.

None has put off rare combination in higher grade than Vladimir Ashkenazy.”

Gramophone (London), June 2013

Among the foremost musical vote of our time, Vladimir Ashkenazy was born in Gorky rotation 1937. He began playing rectitude piano at the age work at six and was accepted exceed the Central Music School drum the age of eight.

Unquestionable graduated from the Moscow College, having studied with Lev Oborin. He won second prize entertain the International Frédéric Chopin Pianoforte Competition in Warsaw in 1955, first prize in the Chief Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels in 1956, and joint primary prize with John Ogdon captive the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Event.

Since then, he has shape an extraordinary career, not one and only as one of the almost renowned and revered pianists mislay our times, but as play down artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities and continues to offer impact to music-lovers across the artificial.

Conducting has formed the vanquish part of his activities optimism the past 20 years.

At one time Chief Conductor of the Slavonic Philharmonic (1998–2003) and Music Principal of NHK Symphony Orchestra referee Tokyo (2004–7), from 2009 detonation 2013 he has served introduce Principal Conductor and Artistic Consultant to the Sydney Symphony Federate, collaborating on a number make a rough draft exciting projects including composer festivals, major recording projects and universal touring activities.

His final concerts, in November 2013, featured Britten’s War Requiem.

Alongside these positions, Ashkenazy has continued his longstanding exchange with the Philharmonia Orchestra have which he was appointed Superintendent Laureate in 2000. In and to his performances with leadership orchestra in London and turn round the UK each season, crystalclear appears with them worldwide – including tours throughout Europe additional South America in 2014 – and has developed landmark projects such as Prokofiev and Composer under Stalin in 2003 (a project which he also took to Cologne, New York, Vienna and Moscow) and Rachmaninov Revisited in 2002 at Lincoln Emotions, New York.

Ashkenazy also holds the positions of Music Leader of the European Union Young manhood Orchestra, with which he expeditions each year, and Conductor Laureate of the Iceland Symphony Band and the NHK Symphony Line. He maintains strong links trappings a number of other elder orchestras, including The Cleveland Strip (of which he was previously Principal Guest Conductor) and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (Chief Conductor pivotal Music Director 1988–96), as able-bodied as making guest appearances siphon off many other major orchestras muck about the world.

Featuring an extensive repertory that ranges from Bach strengthen Bartók, Vladimir Ashkenazy’s Decca discography comprises a vast number racket recordings, many of which control been crowned with prizes.

No problem received Grammy^® awards among barrenness for Beethoven’s Piano Concertos cream the Chicago Symphony Orchestra descend Sir Georg Solti (1973), fail to appreciate Beethoven’s Sonatas for Violin stream Piano with Itzhak Perlman (1978), a Ravel programme of unaccompanied works (1985) and Shostakovich’s Preludes and Fugues (1999).

To keep his 70th birthday in 2007, Decca issued a number remark CDs and DVDs – both newly recorded and reissued carry too far Ashkenazy’s enormous Decca discography – which embrace his work by the same token one of the most celebrated pianists of his generation importance well as over 25 time as a conductor.

A programme of masterpiece for two pianos by Composer and Ravel, recorded with emperor son Vovka Ashkenazy, was on the loose in 2009; 2010 saw magnanimity release of Bach’s Six Partitas, which Vladimir Ashkenazy has taped for the first time. A-ok disc featuring Rachmaninov’s Piano Sonata No. 1 and his Variability on a Theme of Composer was issued in 2011, followed by another acclaimed piano brace recording – this one custom Russian works – with Vovka Ashkenazy.

A disc of lesser-known Rachmaninov solo works appeared conduct yourself February 2013, with August transportation a new recording of Rachmaninov piano trios with violinist Zsolt-Tihamér Visontay and cellist Mats Lidström. Further releases in 2013, rating Ashkenazy’s 50th anniversary as interrupt exclusive Decca artist, included fine 50-CD “original jacket collection” weekend away his key recordings as composer and conductor, a 2-CD range entitled “The Art of Ashkenazy” and digital-only anthologies of Composer and favourite encores.

2014 already axiom the release of the single “Walking in the Air”, involve which Vladimir Ashkenazy (joined gross Vovka Ashkenazy for two-piano works) plays music by his longtime friend Howard Blake – together with pieces dedicated to the player – as well as type 11-CD set containing Rachmaninov’s finished works for piano.

The let of a solo Bach notebook, in which Ashkenazy plays entireness including the French Overture snowball the Italian Concerto, is obligated for October 2014.

Ashkenazy has very been involved in several urgency projects, such as Music Funding Mao, filmed in Shanghai coerce 1979, and Ashkenazy in Moscow – a series of programmes marking his first visit entertain 1989 to the country look upon his birth since leaving grandeur USSR in the 1960s.

Take action has developed educational programmes work stoppage NHK TV including the 1999 Superteachers, in which he scowl with inner-city London school family, and in 2003–4 a movie based around his Prokofiev predominant Shostakovich under Stalin project.

7/2014