Credits:

Vladimir Ashkenazy

Description:

Vladimir Ashkenazy (1937) is now also widely active as a conductor. This video features Ashkenazys exquisite performances of Schubert and Schumann, recorded in an intimate studio in Glasgow. Born in the Soviet Union, he began playing the piano at age 6 and was such a child prodigy that he gave his debut recital in Moscow just two years later. In 1955, he competed in the International Chopin Piano Competition and won second place (first place went to Adam Harasiewicz). He continued his studies and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1960, but after moving to London in 1963, he faced harsh treatment from the Soviet Union, including having his existence erased. However, having already begun his international career, he steadily gained popularityeven taking up conducting in the 1970sand, as you know, returned to Russia in 1989, becoming Ashkenazy of the World in both name and reality. I