The Mann Center for the Performing Arts - Performance Schedule

Emanuel Ax Wednesday, June 21, 8pm

The Philadelphia Orchestra
Peter Oundjian, conductor
Emanuel Ax, piano

Mozart, Overture to Don Giovanni
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5, ("Emperor")
Musorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition

Tickets: $70, $58, $30, $20
Lawn admission: $10

Emanuel Ax is renowned not only for his poetic temperament and unsurpassed virtuosity, but also for the exceptional breadth of his performing activity. Each season his distinguished career includes appearances with major symphony orchestras worldwide, recitals in the most celebrated concert halls, a variety of chamber music collaborations, the commissioning and performance of new music, and additions to his acclaimed discography on Sony Classical. Read the rest of Mr. Ax’s bio. Learn more about Mr. Ax's career: www.EmanuelAx.com. Learn more about The Philadelphia Orchestra: www.philorch.org.

A dynamic presence in the orchestral world, Peter Oundjian continues to make his mark as one of today’s most exciting faces on the conducting scene. His probing musicality, spirit of collaboration, and engaging personality have earned him accolades from musicians and critics alike, as well as frequent re-engagements. The strong bond forged with the musicians and community of Toronto continues through his second season as Music Director of the Toronto Symphony. Through his communicative gifts on and off the podium, Mr. Oundjian’s concerts draw strong audiences as he explores the breadth and depth of orchestral repertoire and features world-renowned soloists. Learn more about Mr. Oundjian.

Mr. Ax captured public attention in 1974 when, at age 25, he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists and, four years later, took the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. He has been an exclusive Sony Classical recording artist since 1987, making his debut on that label with a collection of Chopin scherzos and mazurkas. Mr. Ax's third volume in the recording cycle of Haydn Piano Sonatas (Nos. 29, 31, 34, 35, 49) received a Grammy Award in February 2004 - the previous recording in the cycle (Sonata Nos. 47, 53, 32, 59) also won a Grammy. Other recent releases include a two-piano program (with Yefim Bronfman) of works by Rachmaninoff; period-instrument performances of Chopin's complete works for piano and orchestra (on two discs); and the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with Bernard Haitink and the Boston Symphony. Other notable recordings are the two Liszt concertos paired with the Schoenberg Concerto, three solo Brahms albums, an album of tangos by Astor Piazzolla and a recording of John Adams' "Century Rolls" with the Cleveland Orchestra for Nonesuch.

During the 2004-05 season Mr. Ax embarks on separate recital tours with two longstanding colleagues, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Yefim Bronfman. In the fall he visits the Far East to give performances in Guangzhou, Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong and Taipei. He will also participate in a BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust; it will be filmed in Poland as a BBC/Polish TV/CBC/PBS co-production and air on Jan. 27, 2005 - the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In the spring he tours the United States with the Dresden Staatskapelle and Myung-Whun Chung (with performances in Carnegie Hall and Boston's Symphony Hall).

Throughout the 2003-04 season at Carnegie Hall, Mr. Ax focused on Debussy, his music and his influences. This season-long "Perspectives" series featured Mr. Ax in performances with the Boston Symphony under Bernard Haitink, with the Juilliard Orchestra under Charles Dutoit, in three chamber music concerts at Zankel Hall, and in a solo piano recital. These programs featured world premieres of three Carnegie Hall commissions.

In recent years Mr. Ax has turned his attention toward the music of 20th-century composers, performing works by such diverse figures as Sir Michael Tippett, Hans Werner Henze, Paul Hindemith, Ezra Laderman, Peter Lieberson, Joseph Schwantner, William Bolcom, André Previn and Aaron Copland.

He gave the world premiere of John Adams' "Century Rolls" with the Cleveland Orchestra in 1997, the European premiere with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1998, and the New York premiere with the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in 2000. Another concerto dedicated to him, Christopher Rouse's "Seeing," was premiered in 1999 with Leonard Slatkin and the New York Philharmonic (its European debut was at the BBC Proms in 2001). In 2000 Mr. Ax joined the Boston Symphony for the first performances of Bright Sheng's "Red Silk Dance," and in March 2003 he joined Yo-Yo Ma, David Zinman and the New York Philharmonic to premiere Mr. Sheng's "Song and Dance of Tears." Mr. Ax premiered Krzysztof Penderecki's "Resurrection" with the Philadelphia Orchestra in May 2002, and in May 2003 he premiered a concerto written for him by Melinda Wagner, "Extremity of Sky," with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony.

Devoted to chamber music literature, Mr. Ax regularly works with such artists as Young Uck Kim, Cho-Liang Lin, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Serkin and Jaime Laredo, and he was a frequent collaborator with the late Isaac Stern. He has made a series of acclaimed recordings with Mr. Ma, and as a duo they have won three Grammy Awards for the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. The pair has also teamed with Richard Stoltzman for a Grammy Award-winning album of clarinet trios and with Pamela Frank, Rebecca Young and Edgar Meyer for the Schubert "Trout" Quintet. The Ax-Stern-Laredo-Ma Quartet recorded the piano quartets of Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Fauré, Mozart and Schumann for Sony Classical.

Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. His studies at The Juilliard School were greatly supported by the sponsorship of the Epstein Scholarship Program of the Boys Clubs of America, and he subsequently won the Young Concert Artists Award. His piano teacher was Mieczylaw Munz. Additionally, he attended Columbia University, where he majored in French.

Mr. Ax resides in New York City with his wife, the pianist Yoko Nozaki. They have two children together, Joseph and Sarah. For more information about Mr. Ax's career, please visit www.EmanuelAx.com.

A consummate musician and natural leader, Oundjian’s 2005-06 season includes twelve weeks in Toronto plus return visits to the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Houston, and St. Louis Symphonies, as well as regular engagements in Colorado, where he is currently Principal Guest Conductor. Additional appearances include debuts in Paris and with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Along with concerts at the Caramoor Festival in the summer of 2005, where Oundjian currently serves as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor, Oundjian triumphantly led the Philadelphia Orchestra in its fourth annual Mozart Festival. Oundjian has conducted this Festival since its inception and serves as its Guest Artistic Director and Conductor. Oundjian’s bond with the Philadelphia Orchestra is a powerful one, and has resulted in these Festival appearances as well as invitations for several subscription weeks scheduled through the fall of 2006. In summer 2005, return visits to the Aspen, Grand Teton and Tanglewood Festivals were also notable.

A significant relationship was formed upon Peter Oundjian’s triumphant 1998 debut in St Louis, where he filled a cancellation on a week’s notice; he has been returning to St. Louis seasonally ever since. His debut with the Houston Symphony in 1999 was equally magical, and the connection he forged with the musicians and audience prompted the orchestra to bring him back a mere three months later. His annual appearances with the orchestra have become a season highlight.

Recent appearances in North America include the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Cincinnati, Symphonies as well as the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival three summers in a row. Abroad, Mr. Oundjian has made several appearances with the Zurich Tonhalle and also led concerts with orchestras including the Saarbrucken Radio Symphony, NDR Hanover Symphony, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and at the Konzerthaus in Berlin.

Mr. Oundjian’s relationship with Caramoor began in 1981, as the first violinist of the renowned Tokyo String Quartet, a position he held for fourteen years. Summer 2005 marked the 10th Anniversary of Oundjian’s formal conducting debut at Caramoor with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, a performance in which he shared the podium with Andre Previn. Mr. Oundjian continues to be a regular presence at Caramoor, and will return for the opening concert in 2006.

From 1998-2003, Oundjian served as the Music Director of the Nieuw Sinfonietta in Amsterdam. The chemistry between Oundjian and the Nieuw Sinfonietta was evident throughout their regular performances at the famed Concertgebouw and on tour throughout Europe, as well as on their impressive 2002 BIS CD of Beethoven. In their Paris debut, a cheering audience brought Oundjian back for five curtain calls. Also memorable is Oundjian’s Carnegie Hall debut with the English Chamber Orchestra and baritone Bryn Terfel as part of a surprise performance to celebrate the 50th birthday of close friend and colleague, Pinchas Zukerman.

Through his long association with the Tokyo String Quartet, Oundjian extensively explored the quartet repertoire including the complete String Quartets of Bartok, Beethoven and Schubert and received four Grammy nominations. With the Quartet, Oundjian toured all over the world, performing the complete Beethoven cycle in such major arts centers as Carnegie Hall, La Scala in Milan, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Chatelet in Paris.

Born in Toronto, Peter Oundjian was educated in England, where he studied the violin with Manoug Parikian. During this time, Mr. Oundjian was chosen to participate in three recording sessions with Benjamin Britten, which sparked his enthusiasm for conducting. Subsequently, he attended the Royal College of Music in London, where he completed his studies in eighteen months and was awarded the Gold Medal for Most Distinguished Student and Stoutzker Prize for excellence in violin playing.

Mr. Oundjian completed his violin training at the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied with Ivan Galamian, Itzhak Perlman, and Dorothy DeLay. While at Juilliard, he had the opportunity to conduct for Herbert von Karajan during an historic three-day series of masterclasses. In 1980, he received First Prize at the International Violin Competition in Vina Del Mar, Chile.

Mr. Oundjian is in now in his 25th year as a visiting professor at the Yale School of Music. He makes his home with his wife Nadine and their two children, Lara and Peter.