Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy
Performer: Vladimir Ashkenazy
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Melodiya
Catalogue: MELCD1002586
Release: 2019
Size: 298 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2
01. I. Largo – Allegro
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Allegretto
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31 No. 3
04. I. Allegro
05. II. Scherzo. Allegretto vivace
06. III. Menuetto. Moderato e grazioso
07. IV. Presto con fuoco
08. Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
09. Chopin: Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
10. Chopin: Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47
11. Debussy: La sérénade interrompue, L. 117 No. 9
Recorded at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on June 9, 1963
The cited lines are a fragment from Joseph Brodsky’s Roman Elegies written in 1981 when Vladimir Ashkenazy, whose performing art was well known to the poet, was a world-famous pianist and conductor. However, there was a time when he had to start his meteoric career in the West from scratch.
Born in the family of a famous variety pianist (David Ashkenazy worked with some of the best representatives of domestic light music such as Vadim Kozin, Isabella Yurieva, Klavdiya Shulzhenko and Iosif Kobzon), Vladimir showed his outstanding musical capabilities at a young age. Thanks to his mother, he entered the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory where he studied under the remarkable teacher Anaida Sumbatian (Vladimir Krainev, Nina Kogan and Konstantin Orbelian were among her pupils) who implanted an impeccable taste, a sense of style and severe self-discipline in them. Lev Oborin, the legendary winner of the 1st Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, became the young pianist’s Professor at the conservatory (in 1955, Vladimir Ashkenazy was awarded the silver medal in the same competition, while a number of judges refused to sign the protocol, believing that the musician deserved the first award). Next year, Ashkenazi’s name was on a par with the likes of David Oistrakh, Emil Gilels and Leonid Kogan, all of whom had received the Grand Prix of the Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Brussels. After the competition, he had a successful tour of the United States.
He was thought to be one of the main Soviet contenders for the gold medal of the 1st Tchaikovsky International Competition, but he eventually refused to participate. Nevertheless, he gained a convincing victory in the 2nd Competition in 1962, sharing the top award with the English pianist John Ogdon.