I & I - 2011, Page 16

16 I&I
Vladimir Ashkenazy grew up in commu-
nist Moscow. He was a very talented
piano player and that gave him privileges.
Still he had to live with his parents in a 38
m2 (380 sq feet) apartment. And in 1961,
when he married a girl from Iceland who
was also a sensational pianist, they had to
move into that same flat.
Still, Ashkenazy’s talents gave the young
couple the opportunity to travel to foreign
countries, a privilege in the Soviet Union. In
one such trip to London the couple decided
to apply for residency in the UK. They did
not renounce their Soviet citizenship and
did in fact return to the Soviet Union after
this, only to leave for good two months
later.
This was during the Cold War and the
Ashkenazy flight was news all around the
world. However, little by little Ashkenazy
stopped being the outlaw and became one
of the world’s greatest pianists.
When Iceland first held the Reykjavík Arts
Festival in 1970, and in subsequent years,
Ashkenazy was instrumental in getting the
greatest artists in the world to appear. The
couple lived in Iceland until 1978, but since
they moved to Switzerland they have kept
strong ties to their “home country” (both
are Icelandic citizens).
Even though Ashkenazy is still an active
pianist, he has concentrated on conducting
in later years. Now he is the conductor of
the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Austra-
lia.
On May 4 this year, the audience awaited
the first concert by the Icelandic Symphony
Orchestra in its new home, Harpa—meaning
‘harp’. Ashkenazy had been instrumental in
getting the marvelous new music hall built,
and it was only natural that he would hold
the conductor’s baton. In this moment it felt
like a circle was closing; Iceland finally had a
world class music hall and world class musi-
cians to perform. One story was coming to
an end and a new story was beginning.
By Benedikt Jóhannesson.
A top musiciAn opens
tHe new HArpA
Vladimir Ashkenazy was a child prodigy piano player. Now he is one
of the leading conductors in the world.
P
ho
to
s
b
y
G
ei
r
ó
la
fs
so
n.