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Emanuel Ax
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emanuel Ax (born June 8, 1949) is Ukrainian-born Polish pianist.
Born in Lviv, Ukraine (then a constituent republic of the Soviet Union), he began to study the piano at the age of six in Warsaw. When the family moved to North America in 1961 he continued his studies at the Juilliard School under Mieczysław Munz, and earned his B.A. at Columbia University.
- 1974 - Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv
- 1979 - Avery Fisher Prize in New York
Ax is a particular supporter of contemporary composers and has given three world premieres in the last few seasons; Century Rolls by John Adams, Seeing by Christopher Rouse and Red Silk Dance by Bright Sheng. He also performs works by such diverse figures as Sir Michael Tippett, Hans Werner Henze, Joseph Schwantner and Paul Hindemith, as well as more traditional composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin.
Ax regularly performs duo recitals with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and played quartets with Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo and Yo-Yo Ma. Though the quartet had to disband in 2001 when Stern died, they recorded works for Sony by Brahms, Fauré, Beethoven, Schumann and Mozart.
He lives in New York City with his wife, pianist Yoko Nozaki, and has two children, Joseph and Sarah.
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:
- Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor and F (1986)
- Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations (1987)
- Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma & Isaac Stern for Brahms: Piano Quartets (Op. 25 and 26) (1992)
- Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano (1993)
- Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma & Richard Stoltzman for Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios (1996)
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra):
- Emanuel Ax for Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Nos. 32, 47, 53, 59 (1995)
- Emanuel Ax for Haydn: Piano Sonatas Nos. 29, 31, 34, 35 & 49 (2004)
Categories: 1949 births | Living people | Galician Jews | Ukrainian Jews | Polish Jews | American classical pianists | Jewish American musicians | Jewish classical musicians | Polish classical pianists | Polish-Americans | Columbia University alumni | People from Lviv | Grammy Award winners | Juilliard School people