Emanuel Ax
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Emanuel Ax (born June 8, 1949) is a Polish-American pianist. Born in Lvov (Poland), 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 Mieczylaw Munz. He lives in New York with his wife, the pianist Yoko Nazaki, and their two children.
- 1974 - Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv
- 1979 - Avery Fisher Prize in New York
Ax is a particular supporter of 20th century 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. Ax regularly performs duo recitals with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, their recordings together have earned three Grammy Awards. He also received a Grammy award for his Brahms Trio recording with Ma and Richard Stolzman. Ax regularly plays quartets with Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo and Yo-Yo Ma and for Sony they have recorded works by Brahms, Faure, Beethoven, Schumann and Mozart.
Awards and Recognitions
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):