Vladimir Ashkenazy

Vladimir Ashkenazy in 2007

Ashkenazy with his wife Þórunn and eldest son Vladimir in 1963

Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy(Russian:Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи,Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi;born 6 July 1937) is a Russian solo pianist, chamber music performer, andconductor.Born in the Soviet Union, he has held Icelandic citizenship since 1972 and has been a resident of Switzerland since 1978. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, he has recorded a large repertoire of classical and romantic works. His recordings have earned him fiveGrammyawards and Iceland'sOrder of the Falcon.

Early life

Vladimir Ashkenazy was born in Gorky, Soviet Union (nowNizhny Novgorod,Russia), to pianist and composerDavid Ashkenaziand to actress Yevstolia Grigorievna (born Plotnova). His father was Jewish and his mother came from a RussianOrthodoxfamily. Ashkenazy was christened in a Russian Orthodox church.He began playingpianoat the age of six and was accepted to the Central Music School at age eight, studying withAnaida Sumbatyan.

Education

Ashkenazy attended theMoscow Conservatorywhere he studied withLev OborinandBoris Zemliansky.He won second prize in theV International Chopin Piano Competitionin Warsaw in 1955 and the first prize in theQueen Elisabeth Music Competitionin Brussels in 1956. He shared the first prize in the 1962International Tchaikovsky Competitionwith British pianistJohn Ogdon.As a student, like many in that period, he was harassed by theKGBto become an "informer".

Personal life

Ashkenazy (1984)

In 1961, he married theIceland-born Þórunn Jóhannsdóttir, who studiedpianoat theMoscow Conservatory.To marry Ashkenazy, Þórunn was forced to give up her Icelandic citizenship and declare that she wanted to live in the USSR. Her name is usually transliterated as "Thorunn"; her nickname is Dódý,so she is called Dódý Ashkenazy.

After numerous bureaucratic procedures, the Soviet authorities agreed to allow the Ashkenazys to visitthe Westfor musical performances and for visits to his parents-in-law with their first grandson. In his memoirs, Soviet leaderNikita Khrushchevrecollected that Ashkenazy on a visit to London had refused to return to the Soviet Union. Khrushchev mentioned that Ashkenazy then sought advice from the Soviet Embassy in London, who in turn referred the matter to Moscow. Khrushchev said he was of the opinion that to require Ashkenazy to return to the USSR would have made him an "Anti-Soviet". He further said that this was a good example of an artist being able to come and go in and out of the USSR freely, which Ashkenazy said was a gross "distortion of the truth".In 1963, Ashkenazy decided to leave the USSR permanently, establishing residence in London, where his wife's parents lived.

The couple moved to Iceland in 1968 where, in 1972, Ashkenazy became an Icelandic citizen.In 1970 he helped to found theReykjavík Arts Festival,of which he remains Honorary President.In 1978 the couple and their (then) four children (Vladimir Stefan, Nadia Liza, Dimitri Thor, and Sonia Edda) moved toLucerne,Switzerland. Their fifth child, Alexandra Inga, was born in 1979. Beginning in 1989, Ashkenazy resided inMeggen,Switzerland, onLake Lucerne.His eldest son Vladimir, who uses his nickname 'Vovka' as a stage name, is a pianist, as well as a teacher at the Imola International Piano Academy. His second son, Dimitri, is a clarinetist.

Critical reception

The Guardianwrote in 2018 that Ashkenazy conducted pieces byProkofievandGlièreas if he had been "born to do it" during a concert series that explored the musical response to theBolshevik Revolutionof 1917, including composerAlexander Mosolov'sIron Foundry(1927) and thesuitefromThe Red Poppy,aballetwith music by Glière.

Career

External audio
You may listen to Vladimir Ashkenazy performingFrédéric Chopin's: Études Op. 10 Études Op. 25 Nocturne in B major, Op. 9, No. 3 Ballade No. 2 andFranz Liszt'sMephisto Waltz No. 1in 1960here on archive.org

Ashkenazy has recorded a wide range of piano repertoire, both solo works and concerti. His recordings include:

• Bach'sThe Well-Tempered Clavier
• Bach'sFrench Suites
• 24 Preludes and FuguesofShostakovich
• complete sonatas byBeethoven
• complete sonatas byScriabin
• the complete works for piano byRachmaninoff
• the complete works for solo piano byChopin
• the (almost) complete works for piano bySchumann

His concerto recordings include:

• the complete piano concertos ofMozart(conducting from the keyboard with thePhilharmonia Orchestra)
• three cycles of the 5 Beethoven concerti

(a) with theChicago Symphony OrchestraunderSir Georg Solti

(b) withZubin Mehtaand theVienna Philharmonic

(c) conducting from the piano with theCleveland Orchestra

• BrahmswithBernard Haitink(No. 1with theConcertgebouw Orchestra;No. 2with the Vienna Philharmonic)
• Bartók(with Georg Solti and theLondon Philharmonic Orchestra)
• Prokofiev(withAndré Previnand theLondon Symphony Orchestra)
• two cycles of the Rachmaninoff concerti

(a) with André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra

(b) with Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orchestra

In public piano 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. He has also performed and recorded chamber music. Moreover, Ashkenazy has had an acclaimed collaborative career, including an acclaimed recording ofBeethoven's completeviolin sonataswithItzhak Perlman,as well as the cello sonatas withLynn Harrell,and the piano trios with Harrell andPerlman.

Midway through his international pianistic career, Ashkenazy branched into conducting. In Europe, Ashkenazy was principal conductor of theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestrafrom 1987 to 1994, and of theCzech Philharmonicfrom 1998 to 2003. Ashkenazy is also conductor laureate of thePhilharmonia Orchestra,conductor laureate of theIceland Symphony Orchestra,and music director of theEuropean Union Youth Orchestra.In July 2013 he became director of theAccademia Pianistica Internazionale di Imola,succeeding its founder and directorFranco Scala.His recordings as a conductor include complete cycles of the symphonies of Sibelius and of Rachmaninoff, as well as orchestral works of Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Scriabin,Richard Strauss,Stravinsky,Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky.

Outside of Europe, Ashkenazy served as music director of theNHK Symphony Orchestrafrom 2004 to 2007. He was chief conductor of theSydney Symphony Orchestrafrom 2009 to 2013.

Ashkenazy has recorded forDeccasince 1963; in 2013, Decca celebrated his 50th anniversary with the label with the box set 'Vladimir Ashkenazy: 50 Years on Decca', including 50 of Ashkenazy's recordings as both pianist and conductor.As part of Ashkenazy's 80th birthday celebrations, Decca is releasing the 'Complete Piano Concerto Recordings' and 'Ashkenazy on Vinyl' in July 2017. In other media, Ashkenazy has also appeared in several films on music byChristopher Nupen.He interpreted the soundtrack of the film Piano Forest: works from the repertoire of Bach, Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven. He has also made his own orchestration ofModest Mussorgsky's piano suitePictures 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.

On 17 January 2020 the artist management agencyHarrison Parrottannounced Ashkenazy's retirement from public performance.

Awards and recognition

• 1955V International Chopin Piano Competition,Warsaw (Second prize)
• 1956Queen Elisabeth Music Competitionfor piano, Brussels
• 1962International Tchaikovsky Competition,Moscow (shared withJohn Ogdon)
• 2000Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award,with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducting corps
• Current president of theRachmaninoff Society.
• Elgar Medal,2019
• 2014 Sergei Rachmaninov International Award

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

• 1974Beethoven:The Piano Concertos(Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Georg Solti & Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance

• 1979Beethoven:Sonatas for Violin and Piano(Itzhak Perlman& Vladimir Ashkenazy)
• 1982Tchaikovsky:Piano Trio in A minor(Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman,Lynn Harrell)
• 1988Beethoven:The Complete Piano Trios(Vladimir Ashkenazy, Itzhak Perlman, Lynn Harrell)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance

• 1986Ravel:Gaspard de la nuit;Pavane pour une infante défunte;Valses nobles et sentimentales
• 2000Shostakovich:24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

ARIA Music Awards

TheARIA Music Awardsis an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music.They commenced in 1987.

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2012	Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius(withSydney Symphony Orchestra)	Best Classical Album	Nominated

Bibliography

• Ashkenazy, Vladimir; Parrott, Jasper (1985).Beyond Frontiers.New York: Atheneum.ISBN0-689-11505-9.