Emanuel Ax
(born 8 June 1949) is a Grammy-winning Jewish-American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. [1]
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EMANUEL AX TICKETS
| EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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| Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra: Dalia Stasevska & Emanuel Ax - Mozart Tickets 5/9 | May 09, 2025
Fri, 2:00 PM |  | | Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra: Dalia Stasevska & Emanuel Ax - Mozart Tickets 5/10 | May 10, 2025
Sat, 8:00 PM | | | Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra: Dalia Stasevska & Emanuel Ax - Mozart Tickets 5/11 | May 11, 2025
Sun, 2:00 PM | | | Boston Symphony Orchestra: Andris Nelsons & Emanuel Ax - John Williams Piano Concerto Tickets 7/26 | Jul 26, 2025
Sat, 8:00 PM | | | Open Rehearsal: Leonidas Kavakos, Antoine Tamestit, Yo-Yo Ma & Emanuel Ax Tickets 8/2 | Aug 02, 2025
Sat, 10:30 AM | |
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Early life
Ax was born in
Lvov,
Ukraine (then a constituent republic of the
Soviet Union) to Joachim and Hellen Ax, both
Nazi concentration camp survivors. Ax began to study piano at the age of six; his father was his first piano teacher. When he was eight the family moved to
Warsaw,
Poland and then two years later to
Winnipeg,
Canada where he continued to study music, including as a member of The Junior Musical Club of Winnipeg. In 1961 the family moved to
New York City and Ax continued his studies at the
Juilliard School under
Mieczyslaw Munz. In 1970 he received his B.A. in
French at
Columbia University and became an American citizen.
Musical style
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 Ma and violinists
Isaac Stern and
Jaime Laredo. Before the quartet had to disband in 2001 due to the death of Stern, they recorded works for
Sony by
Brahms,
Fauré, Beethoven,
Schumann and Mozart. Ax is also a featured guest artist in a documentary film about the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Peter Oundjian,
Five Days in September; the Rebirth of an Orchestra
.
He is a recipient of
Yale University's
Sanford Medal.
[2]
Personal life
He lives in
New York City with his wife, pianist
Yoko Nozaki, and has two children, Joseph and Sarah.
Awards and Recognitions
- 1974 - Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv
- 1979 - Avery Fisher Prize in New York
- Award of Excellence, The International Center in New York
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)
References
- http://www.juilliard.edu/alumni/reflections_0604.html
- Leading clarinetist to receive Sanford Medal