Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos & Yo-Yo Ma At The Odeon Of Herodes Atticus
EVENT INFO
- When: 15 Jun 2024
- Time: 21:00 - 21:00
- Where: Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athina
- Price: From 5€
- Title: Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos & Yo-Yo Ma At The Odeon Of Herodes Atticus
- Contact Number: +30 211 800 8181
Three superstars of classical music will come together for a top-tier event on June 15 at the Herodion: Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma will share the stage of the Roman Odeon for a magical evening as part of this year’s Athens Epidaurus Festival.
The three leading soloists, who have been performing together for years and filling the world’s greatest concert halls, will interpret works by Beethoven and Brahms. Among the most renowned names internationally, Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma have already recorded three albums featuring Beethoven’s works, a collaboration greatly celebrated by music lovers.
The musical union of these three brilliant performers with their incomparable technique at the Herodion is expected to be one of the major, internationally acclaimed, musical events of this summer!
Emanuel Ax
Born in Lviv, present-day Ukraine, to Polish parents who emigrated to Canada when Ax was a child, he won first prize at the Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv in 1974 and the Michaels Award for young artists the following year. In 1979, he received the Avery Fisher Prize, having made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists series a few years earlier.
He followed a significant solo career without ever abandoning chamber music. He has recorded all of Beethoven's and Brahms' cello and piano sonatas with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, recordings that have won Grammy Awards. Additionally, he has been honored with Grammy Awards for his complete cycle of Joseph Haydn's piano sonatas. He participated in the BBC's award-winning documentary on the Holocaust, which aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Last year, he performed the world premiere of Anders Hillborg's Piano Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The concerto was a special commission from the orchestra for Ax. Following successful recordings of Brahms' piano trios with Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma (2017), he aims to record all of Beethoven's symphonies and trios with the same collaborators in the coming years.
Leonidas Kavakos
Leonidas Kavakos, recognized worldwide as an artist of rare quality, is distinguished for his unmatched technique, captivating virtuosity, and completeness of interpretation. He regularly collaborates with the greatest orchestras and conductors, giving recitals in the most renowned halls and festivals.
In recent years, he has built a highly successful profile as a conductor, leading the New York Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, French Radio Philharmonic, and La Scala Philharmonic, among others.
He has an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical and has been named Echo Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year (2013) and Gramophone Artist of the Year (2014). With regular collaborators Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma, he has recorded Beethoven's symphonies and trios under the series "Beethoven for Three." With the ApollΩn Ensemble, he recently recorded Bach's Violin Concertos, which have been praised internationally. Born into a musical family in Athens, he runs his own masterclass series, attracting violinists and chamber music ensembles from around the world. He has been a regular member of the Academy of Athens in the Chair of Music since 2022, and plays on a 1734 “Willemotte” Stradivarius.
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma's multifaceted career demonstrates his belief that culture has the power to create connections of trust and understanding. At every stage of his journey, he seeks to forge relationships that activate the imagination and humanity.
His most recent project, Our Common Nature, is a cultural journey focusing on the power of nature to bring us together. This followed the Bach Project, a tour during which Ma traveled to six continents performing Bach’s cello suites in collaboration with local partners. These endeavors reflect the artist’s ongoing effort to unite different musical genres and traditions to envision and build a stronger society.
Born in Paris in 1955 to Chinese parents, Ma began learning the cello with his father at age 4. At 7, his family moved to New York, where he continued his cello studies and later pursued humanities. He has recorded over 120 albums, won 19 Grammy Awards, and performed for nine American presidents, most recently at the current president’s inauguration.
He has been honored with the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize, among others. He has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006 and was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.
The three leading soloists, who have been performing together for years and filling the world’s greatest concert halls, will interpret works by Beethoven and Brahms. Among the most renowned names internationally, Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma have already recorded three albums featuring Beethoven’s works, a collaboration greatly celebrated by music lovers.
The musical union of these three brilliant performers with their incomparable technique at the Herodion is expected to be one of the major, internationally acclaimed, musical events of this summer!
Emanuel Ax
Born in Lviv, present-day Ukraine, to Polish parents who emigrated to Canada when Ax was a child, he won first prize at the Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv in 1974 and the Michaels Award for young artists the following year. In 1979, he received the Avery Fisher Prize, having made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists series a few years earlier.
He followed a significant solo career without ever abandoning chamber music. He has recorded all of Beethoven's and Brahms' cello and piano sonatas with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, recordings that have won Grammy Awards. Additionally, he has been honored with Grammy Awards for his complete cycle of Joseph Haydn's piano sonatas. He participated in the BBC's award-winning documentary on the Holocaust, which aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Last year, he performed the world premiere of Anders Hillborg's Piano Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The concerto was a special commission from the orchestra for Ax. Following successful recordings of Brahms' piano trios with Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma (2017), he aims to record all of Beethoven's symphonies and trios with the same collaborators in the coming years.
Leonidas Kavakos
Leonidas Kavakos, recognized worldwide as an artist of rare quality, is distinguished for his unmatched technique, captivating virtuosity, and completeness of interpretation. He regularly collaborates with the greatest orchestras and conductors, giving recitals in the most renowned halls and festivals.
In recent years, he has built a highly successful profile as a conductor, leading the New York Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, French Radio Philharmonic, and La Scala Philharmonic, among others.
He has an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical and has been named Echo Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year (2013) and Gramophone Artist of the Year (2014). With regular collaborators Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma, he has recorded Beethoven's symphonies and trios under the series "Beethoven for Three." With the ApollΩn Ensemble, he recently recorded Bach's Violin Concertos, which have been praised internationally. Born into a musical family in Athens, he runs his own masterclass series, attracting violinists and chamber music ensembles from around the world. He has been a regular member of the Academy of Athens in the Chair of Music since 2022, and plays on a 1734 “Willemotte” Stradivarius.
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma's multifaceted career demonstrates his belief that culture has the power to create connections of trust and understanding. At every stage of his journey, he seeks to forge relationships that activate the imagination and humanity.
His most recent project, Our Common Nature, is a cultural journey focusing on the power of nature to bring us together. This followed the Bach Project, a tour during which Ma traveled to six continents performing Bach’s cello suites in collaboration with local partners. These endeavors reflect the artist’s ongoing effort to unite different musical genres and traditions to envision and build a stronger society.
Born in Paris in 1955 to Chinese parents, Ma began learning the cello with his father at age 4. At 7, his family moved to New York, where he continued his cello studies and later pursued humanities. He has recorded over 120 albums, won 19 Grammy Awards, and performed for nine American presidents, most recently at the current president’s inauguration.
He has been honored with the National Medal of Arts, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize, among others. He has been a UN Messenger of Peace since 2006 and was recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.