World-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax makes his fourth appearance at Memorial Chapel Sunday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. in a program that includes portions of Schubert’s Four Impromptus and Sonata in A, and of Liszt’s Vallee d’Obermann, Sonetto del Petrarca and Mephisto Waltz.
Noted for his poetic temperament, unsurpassed virtuosity and exceptionally diverse performing capacity, the Polish-born Ax moved with his family to Winnipeg, Canada, when he was a young boy and studied at The Juilliard School through the Epstein Scholarship Program of the Boys Clubs of America. He captured public attention when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in 1974. A year later, he went on to win the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists and eventually, the coveted Avery Fisher Prize.
He has received numerous other honors, including several Grammy awards. He also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. During his 2004-05 concert season, Ax contributed to a BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and for which he received an International Emmy. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Ax’s special projects for the current season include performances with pianist Yefim Bronfman and a solo recital tour in North America and Europe. He will also return to the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the San Francisco and the Toronto symphony orchestras.
The concert is free for the Union College community, $25 for general admission and $10 for area students. For tickets, call (518) 388-6080; for more information on the Series, call (518) 372-3651 or click here.