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Vladimir Ashkenazy (1937-) is a British pianist from the former Soviet Union.
Born on July 6, 1937 in Gorki near Moscow. Started learning piano at the age of 4. When he was 6 years old, he entered formal studies. At the age of 7, he was able to perform Haydn's concerto by the student orchestra. He can be said to be a child with amazing talents. At the age of 8, he performed publicly in Moscow. At the age of 9, he entered the Moscow Central Music School and studied under Anaida Sumbatian.
In 1955, he won the second place in the 5th Chopin Piano Competition. (The first place was Harasievitz, the third place was Fu Cong) At that time, some judges raised objections and believed that it was unfair to Ashkenazy. Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and others even resigned from the judges because of this. in protest. In the same year, he entered the Moscow Conservatory of Music as an undergraduate student and studied with pianist Lev Oborin.
In 1956, he won the first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition of Belgium. Later, he traveled and performed in Belgium, East and West Germany, the United States, and Canada. The British EMI company and the Soviet Union's Melody Records released his records. At this time, Ashkenazy was already well-known at home and abroad, but he continued to study at the Moscow Conservatory of Music. Later, because he expressed his fondness for modernist music and paintings that were considered deviant in the Soviet Union at the time, he was banned from leaving the country for three years by the authorities.
He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory of Music in 1960 and has become one of the internationally renowned pianists. Soon, he married Thorunn Johannsdottir, a fellow Icelandic student and female pianist who had participated in the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 1958.
In 1962, he participated in the second Tchaikovsky Piano Competition and shared the first place with Ogden. He settled in London the following year and soon moved to Iceland.
After the 1970s, he became active on the podium and served as chief guest conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra, music director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, chief guest conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, and chief conductor and music director of the German Symphony Orchestra in Berlin. . In addition, he has conducted many well-known orchestras as a guest, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia and Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, etc.
In 1978, he moved to Lucerne, Switzerland. Eventually he settled in the UK and became a British citizen.
In 1998, he became the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Later, he also served as the music director of the European Youth Symphony Orchestra and the music director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan.
The 1999-2000 performance season coincided with the tenth anniversary of the "Velvet Revolution". During this period, he and the orchestra appeared in Europe, Japan, the United States and South America, performing repertoire that represented the orchestra's historical and cultural characteristics—— From Mozart and Mahler to Krasa, Janacek and Martinu.
In the 2000-2001 season, they continued an extensive tour throughout Europe, including the Barbican Center and Proms in London, Vienna, Lucerne, Germany and Greece. He has visited China five times as a pianist or conductor.
Ashkenazi is an outstanding representative of the Russian piano school. His performance is musically delicate, with gorgeous and transparent timbre, elegant and smooth phrases, and delicate processing. People can discover his amazing skills and profound attainments from the exquisite piano etudes he played. He can be called the authority on perfectly reproducing Liszt's superb technique. His repertoire ranges from Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Prokofiev and Chopin.