Emanuel Ax

Emanuel Ax

Born: June 8, 1949
in Lvov, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Lviv, Ukraine]
Emanuel "Manny" Ax (born 8 June 1949) is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is a teacher in the Juilliard School.

Ax was born to a Polish-Jewish family in Lviv, Ukraine, (in what was then the Soviet Union) to Joachim and Hellen Ax. Both parents were Nazi concentration camp survivors. Ax began to study piano at the age of six; his father was his first piano teacher. When he was seven the family moved to Warsaw, Poland (where he studied piano playing at Miodowa school) and then two years later to Winnipeg, Manitoba, 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 Mieczysław Munz. In 1970 he received his B.A. in French at Columbia University and became an American citizen. The same year, he received an honorable mention at the VIII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. In 1973 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

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 Michael Tippett, Hans Werner Henze, Joseph Schwantner and Paul Hindemith, as well as more traditional composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin.

Ax has been the main duo recital partner of cellist Yo-Yo Ma since August 3, 1973 when the pair performed its first public recital at the Marlboro Music School and Festival. They have recorded much of the cello/piano repertoire together. Ax also played quartets briefly with Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Jaime Laredo. Before the quartet disbanded 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.

In 1997, Ax was the music director of the Ojai Music Festival alongside the conductor Daniel Harding.

He holds honorary doctorates of music from Yale University (awarded in May 2007) and Columbia University. He is a recipient of Yale University's Sanford Medal.

Ax lives in New York City with his wife, pianist Yoko Nozaki, and has two children. He converses in fluent Polish with his family at home.

Ax co-constructed the April 19, 2017 New York Times Crossword Puzzle and is one of the ambassadors to Music Traveler, together with Billy Joel, Hans Zimmer, John Malkovich, Sean Lennon, and Adrien Brody.

Source: Article "Emanuel Ax" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Emanuel Ax...

Title: Mozart in the Jungle
Character: Emanuel Ax
Released: February 6, 2014
Type: TV
In the tradition of Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" and Gelsey Kirkland's "Dancing on my Grave" comes an insider’s look into the secret world of classical musicians. From her debut recital at Carnegie Recital Hall to the Broadway pits of "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon," Blair Tindall has played with some of the biggest names in classical music for twenty-five years. Now in "Mozart in the Jungle," Tindall exposes the scandalous rock and roll lifestyles of the musicians, conductors, and administrators who inhabit the insular world of classical music.
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In Search of Haydn
Title: In Search of Haydn
Character: Self - Pianist
Released: January 19, 2012
Type: Movie
In his lifetime Haydn achieved a degree of fame that easily surpassed that of Mozart and Beethoven. In Search of Haydn is an intricate portrait of Haydn's life told through performances and interviews from today's most admired classical musicians.
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In Search of Beethoven
Title: In Search of Beethoven
Character: Self
Released: April 17, 2009
Type: Movie
In Search of Beethoven offers a comprehensive documentary about the life and works of the great composer. Over 65 performances by the world's finest musicians were recorded and 100 interviews conducted in the making of this beautifully crafted film. Eleven interviews are included in the Extras and Six complete movements.
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Hail Bop! A Portrait of John Adams
Title: Hail Bop! A Portrait of John Adams
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 2006
Type: Movie
Shot over the course of a year, this intimate portrait of provocative composer John Adams presents scenes of the artist at work and at play against the backdrop of dramatic American landscapes that reflect the themes of his music. Though he has a number of credits to his name, Adams is best known for his unconventional opera "Nixon in China," which explores the former U.S. president's meeting with Mao Zedong in 1972.
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Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Here to Make Music
Title: Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Here to Make Music
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1989
Type: Movie
Emmy Award winning documentary, directed by Peter Rosen, about the Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1989, featuring interviews with the contestants and jurists, and footage from rehearsals and performances, including by competition winner Alexei Sultanov.
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Title: Le Grand Échiquier
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 1972
Type: TV