London Philharmonic Orchestra

The AFLPO 2018 50th Anniversary Gala, Morgan Library and Museum, March 27, 2018


Emanuel Ax

Emanuel Ax, 2018 Honoree of the AFLPO’s Lifetime Award for Musical Achievement


The AFLPO honored Mr. Emanuel Ax for his dedication and cultural leadership to the study and performance of music in America and abroad at our 50th Anniversary Gala on March 27, 2018 at the Morgan Library and Museum. We applauded his international career and the worldwide recognition as a classical pianist. Considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century, Mr. Ax is a particular supporter of contemporary composers and has given three world premieres in the last few seasons.

Ax has been on tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and has graciously donated his time to perform for the American Friends of the London Philharmonic Orchestra patrons on several occasions.

Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. His studies at the Juilliard School were supported by the sponsorship of the Epstein Scholarship Program of the Boys Clubs of America, and he subsequently won the Young Concert Artists Award. Additionally, he attended Columbia University, where he majored in French. Emanuel Ax captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, and in 1979 he won the coveted Avery Fisher Prize in New York.

Emanuel has been an exclusive Sony Classical artist since 1987, and his notable recordings include the Grammy Award winning albums of Haydn piano sonatas and, with Yo-Yo Ma, the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano.

He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School of Music. Among his pupils there were Avner Arad, Dong–Hyek Lim, and Orion Weiss. He resides in New York City with his wife, pianist Yoko Nozaki. They have two children together, Joseph and Sarah. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a recipient of Yale University’s Sanford Medal and also holds an honorary Doctorate of Music from Yale awarded in May 2007.


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