Vladimir Ashkenazy
Russian-born Vladimir Ashkenazy has been a towering figure both as a pianist and as a conductor, with interpretations cutting a wide swath across Beethoven, the Romantics, and Russian music. His repertoire extends back to Bach and occasionally forward to contemporary pieces.
Ashkenazy was born July 6, 1937, in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod) in the Soviet Union. His father was a pianist, but it was his mother who encouraged his pianistic gifts. Ashkenazy made his debut at eight in Moscow and enrolled at the Moscow Conservatory in 1955, becoming a student of Lev Oborin. An early breakthrough was a gold medal at the Brussels Queen Elizabeth International piano competition in 1956. Ashkenazy toured the U.S. in 1958 as the so-called Thaw under Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev opened opportunities in the West. Back in Moscow, Ashkenazy married Icelandic pianist Dody Johannsdottir. The pair defected during a 1963 tour of Britain, and Ashkenazy soon began a recording career with the associated Decca and London labels, on whose roster he would remain for decades. He became an Icelandic citizen in 1972 and has also lived in Switzerland. In the early 1970s he began conducting as well. Ashkenazy became principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London from 1987 to 1994, of the Czech Philharmonic from 1998 to 2003, and of the Sydney Symphony in Australia from 2009 to 2013, as well as other groups, and he has been widely visible as a guest conductor, including in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Ashkenazy's piano playing is bright and incisive, with clear articulation and an intellectual depth that does not interfere with the production of warm feeling. He has exceptional control over tone color. His recorded repertory is vast, including complete cycles of the piano concertos of Mozart, Beethoven (three separate times), and Rachmaninov (twice), as well as of the piano sonatas of Beethoven, the piano works of Chopin, and the difficult sonatas of Scriabin. Ashkenazy's productivity has hardly dropped in old age, nor did the technical difficulty of the works he essayed, although he has been less likely to appear in public on the piano. Still recording for Decca, he issued a version of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, in 2007. The year 2011 alone saw no fewer than 19 Ashkenazy releases as pianist or conductor, including those of such taxing works as the Mahler Symphony No. 6. In 2017, Ashkenazy celebrated his 80th birthday with a new recording of Bach's French Suites, and his historical performances were well treated by recording companies. In 2018, new releases of two of Rachmaninov's symphonies, performed live by the Philharmonia Orchestra, appeared on the Signum Classics label. On January 17, 2020, Ashkenazy announced his retirement from public performing.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Borenstein: Violin Concerto, If you will it, it is no dream & The Big Bang and Creation of the Universe
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, Irmina Trynkos
Symphonies - Released by Chandos on 1 Sep 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps; Concerto for 2 Pianos; Sonata for 2 Pianos; Scherzo à la russe (Andrei Gavrilov — Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon, Vol. 9)
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrei Gavrilov
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Apotheosis: The Best of Einojuhani Rautavaara
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Stoltzman, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leif Segerstam, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Ondine on 4 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No.2/Dvorák: Serenade for Strings
The Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No.3; St. Antoni Variations/Dvorak ; Carnival Overture
The Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
Vladimir Ashkenazy, The Cleveland Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Sep 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7, "Leningrad"
Vladimir Ashkenazy, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 2 Jun 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Berg: Altenberg-Lieder; 7 Frühe Lieder; 3 Pieces from 'Lyric Suite', etc.
Brigitte Balleys, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 4
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO), Sir Georg Solti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 6 Sep 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphony No.1/Dvorák: Othello Overture
The Cleveland Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 6 Sep 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Siegfried Idyll / Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht
Vladimir Ashkenazy, English Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Dec 1983
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1; 6 Bagatelles
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Oct 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BLACHER, B.: Concertante Musik / Furstin Tarakanowa Suite / 2 Inventions / Music for Cleveland / Clarinet Concerto (Ashkenazy)
Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Ashkenazy, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Walking In The Air - The Music Of Howard Blake
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony & Valse-Scherzo in C Major
Boris Belkin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Mangora Classical on 20 May 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky: The Nursery / Prokofiev: The Ugly Duckling / Gretchaninov: The Lane
Elisabeth Söderström, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jul 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabin: Vers la Flamme
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 6 Apr 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: French Suites, BWV 812-817
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 30 Jun 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 7 & 10
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Fou Ts'ong, English Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1975
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Transcriptions
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vovka Ashkenazy, Dody Ashkenazy, Alastair Mackie
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo