Instrumentalist

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Vladimir Ashkenazy has often been quoted as saying that for him music is indivisible. This conviction is borne out by his passionate engagement with so many different aspects of music making, whether as conductor, piano recitalist or chamber musician or as the architect of large-scale projects encompassing the full range of musical activities.

The first part of his long life as a musician was devoted to the piano. Building on his studies in Moscow and successes in the Chopin, Queen Elizabeth and Tchaikovsky competitions, he spent three decades touring the world with an ever-growing repertoire and building one of the most comprehensive recording catalogues of our day.

From the 1970s, he became increasingly active as a conductor, holding positions over the years with the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Cleveland and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and making guest appearances with some of the world's finest orchestras.

Since 1998, he has held the position of Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and in spring this year, he took up the positions of Music Director of the European Union Youth Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Philharmonia Orchestra

Alongside these conducting activities, he continues to perform in recital worldwide and to add to his recording catalogue with releases such as the critically acclaimed complete Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues.