Vladimir Ashkenazy - W.A. Mozart Piano Concerto No.12 in A Major
W.A. Mozart Piano Concerto No.12 in A
Major
Vladimir Ashkenazy -
Piano and Conducting
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
-Biography-
Born: July 6,
1937 in
Gorky, USSR (now
Nizhny Novgorod,
Russia)
The greatly gifted
Russian-born Icelandic pianist and conductor,
Vladimir (Davidovich) Ashkenazy [sometimes transliterated
Ashkenazi;
Russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович А́шкенази], was born to an
Ashkenazi Jewish father and a
Russian Orthodox mother. His parents were professional pianists and taught him to play at an early age.
Showing prodigious talent, he was accepted in
1945 (age of 8) at the
Central Music School in
Moscow, where he took formal lessons with
Anaida Sumbatian. In
1955 he entered the class of
Lev Oborin at the
Moscow Conservatory, graduating in
1963. In 1955 he won 2nd prize at the prestigious
International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in
Warsaw. A great turning
point in his career was reached when in
1956, at the age of 19, he won 1st prize in the
Queen Elisabeth of Belgium Competition in
Brussels. In
1958 he made his fIrst tour of the
USA. In 1962 he and
John Ogdon were both awarded 1st prizes at the
International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
In
1961 Vladimir Ashkenazy married a young pianist, SofIa Johannsdottir of
Iceland, who was studying in Moscow at the time. In 1963 they went to
England while retaining their common
Soviet citizenship. In
1968 they moved to
Reykjavík, and in
1972 Ashkenazy became a naturalized
Icelandic citizen.
As a piano virtuoso, Vladimir Ashkenazy has gained an international reputation for his penetrating insight and superlative technique; his mastery extends from
Haydn to the contemporary era. He is renowned for his performances of
Romantic and
Russian composers. He has recorded the complete
24 Preludes and Fugues of
Dmitri Shostakovich,
Scriabin's sonatas,
Chopin and Schumann's entire works for piano, L.v.
Beethoven's piano sonatas, as well as the piano concertos of
Mozart, L.v.
Beethoven,
Béla Bartók,
Prokofiev, and
Sergei Rachmaninov. He has also performed and recorded chamber music. He continues to record and perform internationally.
Midway through his pianistic career, Vladimir Ashkenazy also branched into conducting. In
1981 was appointed principal guest conductor of the
Philharmonia Orchestra of London. From
1987 to
1994 he was music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in
London. He was also principal guest conductor of the
Cleveland Orchestra from 1987 to 1994), and chief conductor of the (
West) Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (from
1989), and of its successor, the Deutsches
Symphonie Orchester
Berlin (from 1994). He was principal conductor of the
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from
1998 to
2003, and became musical director of the
NHK Symphony Orchestra in 2004.
Besides these positions, he is
Conductor Laureate of the
Philharmonia Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the
Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, and
Music Director of the
European Union Youth Orchestra, with whom he performs regularly. As a conductor, he has demonstrated particular affinity for the 19th and
20th-century repertoire, and has particularly been praised for his recordings of orchestral works by
Sibelius, S.
Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, D.
Shostakovich, and Scriabin. He has prepared and conducted his own effective orchestration of
Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition.
Vladimir Ashkenazy has also appeared in several
Christopher Nupen music films, conducting extracts from the composer profiled, including
Respighi and
Tchaikovsky and performing at the piano. An excellent resource covering Ashkenazy's musical philosophy and opinions on many other subjects is his
Beyond Frontiers (London,
1984;
New York: Atheneum,
1985), co-authored with his agent
Jasper Parrott.
Awards and Recognitions: Vladimir Ashkenazy is currently
President of
the Rachmaninoff Society.
Grammy Award for
Best Chamber Music Performance: Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Lynn Harrell &
Itzhak Perlman for L.v. Beethoven: The
Complete Piano Trios (
1988); Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lynn Harrell & Itzhak Perlman for Tchaikovsky:
Piano Trio in A Minor (
1982); Itzhak Perlman & Vladimir Ashkenazy for L.v. Beethoven:
Sonatas for Violin and Piano (
1979). Grammy Award for
Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra): Vladimir Ashkenazy for D. Shostakovich: 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87 (
2000); Vladimir Ashkenazy for
Ravel:
Gaspard de la Nuit;
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte;
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales (
1986).