Emanuel Ax in L.A. & O.C.
In January, Polish-born pianist Emanuel Ax was featured in several solo and chamber recitals around Los Angeles and Orange County. This beloved elder statesman of the piano performed at two educational institutions: Soka University Performing Arts Center in Aliso Viejo (Jan. 16) and Colburn School of Music in downtown Los Angeles (Jan. 18).
His demanding program for these two concerts included: Mozart – Sonata No. 15 in F Major, K. 533/494; Liszt – Tre Sonetti di Petrarca; Bach – Partita No. 5 in G Major, BWV 829; Beethoven – Andante Favori in F Major, WoO 57; Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53; Mozart – Quintet in E-flat Major for Piano and Winds; and Dvořák – Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major.
Born in Lwów, Poland, EMANUEL AX moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. His studies at the Juilliard School were supported by the sponsorship of the Epstein Scholarship Program of the Boys Clubs of America, and he subsequently won the Young Concert Artists Award. Additionally, he attended Columbia University where he majored in French. Mr. Ax captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists followed four years later by the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. Since that time, he has become a seven-time Grammy winning artist and one of the most acclaimed pianists in the world.
[Sources: soka.edu, colburnschool.edu]