Emanuel Ax facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Emanuel Ax
Ax in 2014
Born	(1949-06-08) June 8, 1949 (age 76) Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Nationality	American
Occupation	Classical pianist

Emanuel "Manny" Ax (born June 8, 1949) is a famous American classical pianist. He has won many Grammy Awards for his amazing music.

He is well-known for playing with other musicians. He often plays with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He also performs solo piano concerts and plays with big orchestras around the world.

Emanuel Ax started studying piano at age 12. He learned from Mieczysław Munz at the Juilliard School. He won several important music competitions. In 1974, he won first prize at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition.

Since 1990, Ax has also taught music at the Juilliard School.

Early Life and Musical Journey

Emanuel Ax was born in Lviv, Ukraine, in 1949. At that time, it was part of the Soviet Union. His parents, Joachim and Hellen Ax, were Polish-Jewish and had survived Nazi concentration camps.

Emanuel started playing piano when he was six years old. His father was his very first piano teacher. When he was seven, his family moved to Warsaw, Poland. There, he continued his piano lessons at the Miodowa school.

Two years later, his family moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He kept studying music and was part of The Junior Musical Club of Winnipeg. In 1961, when Emanuel was 12, his family moved to New York City. He then studied piano at the Juilliard School with Mieczysław Munz until 1976.

In 1970, Ax earned a degree in French from Columbia University. The same year, he became an American citizen. He also started winning awards in piano competitions. He won honorable mention at the VIII International Chopin Piano Competition. In 1974, he won the top prize at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition. The famous pianist Arthur Rubinstein himself congratulated him.

In 1975, Ax received the Michaels Award. In 1979, he was given the Avery Fisher Prize. These awards helped him become even more famous.

Thoughts on Music Competitions and Performances

Emanuel Ax has shared his thoughts on music competitions. He said that the tension during competitions was "awful." He felt it was "ridiculous" to compare pianists like numbers.

He believes that judging who is "better" at the highest levels of piano playing is just a personal opinion. He said, "can anyone really go to piano recital and say Horowitz is better than Rubinstein?" He feels that one pianist might speak to him more than another.

Ax agrees that competitions are often needed for pianists to become successful. However, he hopes he never has to be a judge and "eliminate people."

He also talks about choosing music for concerts. He advises against playing pieces you've only just learned. He explained that a pianist needs perfect physical and mental focus. If he feels nervous, his performance will suffer.

Performing Career Highlights

Emanuel Ax has been a main musical partner for cellist Yo-Yo Ma for a long time. They first played together in public on August 3, 1973. They have recorded many cello and piano pieces together.

Ax also played in a quartet with Yo-Yo Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Jaime Laredo. They recorded music by famous composers like Brahms, Fauré, Beethoven, Schumann, and Mozart. This quartet stopped playing together in 2001 after Isaac Stern passed away.

In 1997, Ax was the music director for the Ojai Music Festival. He worked with conductor Daniel Harding.

He has received special honorary degrees in music from several universities. These include Yale University, Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, and Columbia University. He also received Yale University's Sanford Medal.

In 2012, Emanuel Ax was added to the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. This is a great honor for classical musicians.

Musical Style and Favorite Composers

Emanuel Ax is a big supporter of modern composers. He has performed the first public shows of several new pieces. These include Century Rolls by John Adams, Seeing by Christopher Rouse, and Red Silk Dance by Bright Sheng.

He also plays music by many different composers. These include Michael Tippett, Hans Werner Henze, Joseph Schwantner, Arnold Schoenberg, and Paul Hindemith. Of course, he also performs works by older, more traditional composers like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin.

Personal Life

Emanuel Ax lives in New York City with his wife, who is also a pianist, Yoko Nozaki. They have two children. At home, he speaks fluent Polish with his family.

He even helped create a crossword puzzle for New York Times in 2017! He is also an ambassador for Music Traveler, a group that helps musicians find practice spaces. Other famous people involved include Billy Joel and Hans Zimmer.

Recordings

Emanuel Ax has recorded many albums throughout his career. Here are some of them:

• 1981: Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas, Vol. 1 (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1984: Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas, Vol. 2 (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1984: Chopin: Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 (with Philadelphia Orchestra)
• 1985: Brahms: Cello Sonatas (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1986: Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Cello and Piano, Vol. 3 (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1988: Schumann: Cello Concerto / Fantasiestücke (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1988: Dvořák: Piano Trios (with Yo-Yo Ma and Young Uck Kim)
• 1988: Shostakovich: Piano Trio / Cello Sonata (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1989: Strauss and Britten: Cello Sonatas (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1990: Brahms: The Piano Quartets (with Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, and Jaime Laredo)
• 1991: Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonatas (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1992: Brahms: Cello Sonatas (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1993: Fauré: Piano Quartets (with Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, and Jaime Laredo)
• 1994: Chopin: Chamber Music (with Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank)
• 1994: Beethoven, Schumann: Piano Quartets (with Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, and Jaime Laredo)
• 1995: Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart: Clarinet Trios (with Yo-Yo Ma and Richard Stoltzman)
• 1996: Lieberson: King Gesar; Corigliano: Phantasmagoria (with Yo-Yo Ma)
• 1996: Schubert: Trout Quintet; Arpeggione Sonata (with Yo-Yo Ma and Pamela Frank)
• 1997: Mozart: The Piano Quartets (with Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, and Jaime Laredo)
• 1999: Dvořák: Piano Quartet No. 2 / Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 3 (with Yo-Yo Ma, Isaac Stern, and Jaime Laredo)
• 2010: Mendelssohn: Piano Trios and Songs Without Words / Beethoven: Ghost Piano Trio (with Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman)

Awards and Recognitions

Emanuel Ax has received many awards for his musical talent:

• 1970: Honorable Mention, VIII International Chopin Piano Competition
• 1972: Seventh Prize, Queen Elisabeth Competition
• 1974: First Prize, Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition
• 1979: Avery Fisher Prize
• 2007: Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2009: Member of the American Philosophical Society
• 2012: Induction into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame
• 2013: Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year for his Variations recording.
• Award of Excellence, The International Center in New York

He has won several Grammy Awards for Best Chamber Music Performance with Yo-Yo Ma and others:

• 1986: For Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor and F
• 1987: For Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations
• 1992: With Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma and Isaac Stern for Brahms: Piano Quartets
• 1993: For Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano
• 1996: With Yo-Yo Ma and Richard Stoltzman for Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios

He has also won Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra):

• 1995: For Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Nos. 32, 47, 53, 59
• 2004: For Haydn: Piano Sonatas Nos. 29, 31, 34, 35 & 49

See also

In Spanish: Emanuel Ax para niños

• List of Poles