Since Vladimir Ashkenazy came to prominence in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw he has built an extraordinary career as one of the most renowned pianists of our times and an artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities offering inspiration to music-lovers everywhere.
Currently conductor laureate of the Philharmonia, Iceland Symphony and NHK Symphony Orchestras and principal guest conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, he has previously held posts as music director of the European Union Youth Orchestra, principal conductor and artistic advisor to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and music director of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
Ashkenazy continues to devote himself to the piano, now mostly in the recording studio, where he regularly adds to his comprehensive recording catalogue with releases such as ‘Ashkenazy: 50 Years on Decca’ – a 50-CD box-set celebrating his long-standing relationship with the label – and a milestone collection of Ashkenazy’s vast catalogue of Rachmaninov’s piano music, which also includes all of his recordings as a conductor of the composer’s orchestral music, released in 2014.
