Vladimir Ashkenazy leads an open rehearsal and performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30, with Juilliard pianist Hong Xu and the Juilliard Orchestra, on Sunday, September 23, at 2 PM in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Renowned pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy leads a rare open rehearsal and complete performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30 with Juilliard pianistHong Xu and the Juilliard Orchestra on Sunday, September 23 at 2 PM in The Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Juilliard President Joseph W. Polisi will introduce the event, and Juilliard Provost and Dean Ara Guzelimian will moderate a brief audience Q&A session with Mr. Xu and Mr. Ashkenazy following the performance. This special event is presented in partnership with the Rachmaninoff Society, an international organization that promotes greater awareness and appreciation of the music of Rachmaninoff.
Vladimir Ashkenazy was recently appointed principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for a three-year term beginning in January 2009. He is conductor laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra and has held positions over the years with the Royal Phil
harmonic Orchestra (music director), the Cleveland Orchestra (principal guest conductor), and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (chief conductor and music director). This summer, Mr. Ashkenazy is completing a three-year term as the music director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the position of music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra, with whom he tours each season, and conductor laureate of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. In addition, Mr. Ashkenazy has made guest appearances with some of the world’s finest orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia and Concertgebouw Orchestras.
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As a pianist, Mr. Ashkenazy won second prize in the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and first prizes in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 1956 and the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1962. He spent three decades touring the musical centers of the world, performing an ever-growing repertoire in recitals and concerts and appearing with chamber music partners such as Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Lynn Harrell, Elisabeth Soederstroem, Barbara Bonney, and Matthias Goerne. During this time, he built up one of the largest and most comprehensive recording catalogues. He won five Grammy Awards for solo and chamber music recordings between the years 1979 and 2000.
Pianist Hong Xu has won special recognition at several piano competitions: he was named a laureate of the 2006 Honens International Piano Competition, the Mozart prize winner of the 2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition, and second prize winner of the 2004 Hilton Head International Piano Competition. This season, he performs in recital and with orchestras in Canada, the United States, and China, including engagements with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal. He makes his Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall debut on September 15, 2007. Mr. Xu also made his German debut on a seven-city recital tour.
Mr. Xu made his debut with orchestra at age 16 in a performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 18 with the Wuhan Symphony Orchestra. He has since appeared with the Calgary, Hilton Head, Utah, and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras and with the Syracuse Symphony, and has performed in recital in England, Hong Kong, Japan, the United States, and his native China. In 2005, he made his Kennedy Center recital debut. His performances have been broadcast on BBC, CBC, NPR, and WQXR. A native of Wuhan, China, he began his studies with Li-Ping Jiang and Zhong Xu at the Wuhan Conservatory. Mr. Xu came to the United States at age 17 to take part in the Gina Bachauer International Young Artist Competition (Salt Lake City) where he won third prize. He went on to study at the Eastman School of Music with Douglas Humphreys, and while there, was awarded the Liberace Foundation Scholarship. He is a master of music degree student at Juilliard, studying with Jerome Lowenthal.
About The Juilliard School
The Juilliard Schoolestablished this country’s standard for education in the performing arts, beginning with music in 1905. In 1951, its Dance Division was established, with combined training in contemporary and ballet technique. Juilliard became part of Lincoln Center in 1968, and added a four-year Drama program. In 2001, Juilliard broke new ground with the addition of its first Jazz Program. More than 800 young artists, from 49 states (including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia) and 46 foreign countries, attend Juilliard; among its celebrated alumni in all fields are Pina Bausch, Martha Clarke, Van Cliburn, James Conlon, Miles Davis, Renée Fleming, Philip Glass, Kevin Kline, James Levine, Laura Linney, Lar Lubovitch, Patti LuPone, Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Itzhak Perlman, Steve Reich, Kevin Spacey, Paul Taylor, Robin Williams, and many others. For more information, visit Juilliard’s Web site at www.juilliard.edu.
About the Rachmaninoff Society
The Rachmaninoff Society was founded in 1990 to bring into contact all those who appreciate the Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) and to further the study of his life and music. Over the last decade, the Rachmaninoff Society has been active worldwide, assisting in the organization of numerous conferences and concerts, as well as the preparation of radio programs. It has also stimulated the publication of various unknown scores and the making of recordings. The Society’s President is Russian pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. For more information, visit the Rachmaninoff Society Web site at www.rachmaninoff.org.
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