After five generations of Bachs and the father-son duo of Johann Strauss, the idea of musical families is hardly rare. But the team of Vladimir and Vovka Ashkenazy -- who will be appearing in Bangkok on May 14 -- is truly singular. After all, Vladimir is more than well known. He is one of the finest pianists living today, is a widely-acclaimed conductor and his life is the stuff of adventure movies. Vovka, the son of Vladimir and his Icelandic-born wife, is already gaining an international reputation as a pianist. And his transcriptions of classical music have been recorded and lauded on record and in the concert hall.
Their programme in Bangkok will include not only Vovka's famed transcription of Mikhail Glinka's Waltz-Fantasy, but three composers' transcriptions of their own music. Smetana's Moldeau, Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole and a piece almost never played in public, Sergei Rachmaninoff's own two-piano transcription of his final work, the Symphonic Dances.
That last piece obviously has special meaning for Vladimir Ashkenazy. He had met Rachmaninoff when a student, and actually played for him at the Conservatory. Today, Ashkenazy is perhaps the world's finest exponent of Rachmaninoff. He has recorded the complete works of the composer, and critics have been lavish in their praise.
Gramophone Magazine described the pianist as being "formidably in command of even the most daunting technical challenge, remembering his Russian roots throughout… he is of daunting authority, positively commanding your affection at every point".
The idea of Ashkenazy's "Russian roots" is almost ironic, as Vladimir Ashkenazy was one of those stellar artists, like Rudolph Nureyev and Shostakovich's son, who escaped from the Soviet Union. Prior to that, Ashkenazy had been one of the rising stars of the Soviet piano world, winning second prize in the 1955 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition, and first prize in Brussels' Queen Elisabeth Music Competition the following year. In 1962, he shared first prize in the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Competition with British pianist John Ogdon. So his success was supposedly assured.
That was when the Russian Secret Service came to the fore. Like many students in Russia, the KBG was harassing him to become an "informer". Adding to this, he had married an Icelandic piano student, and she was forced to give up her Icelandic citizenship to become a Russian. Could they have been actually planning on leaving the Soviet Union?
The answer came after Ashkenazy was allowed to "temporarily" leave the country for concert performances and to visit his in-laws. Instead, in 1963, Ashkenazy and his wife decided not to return. The Soviet Consulate in London declared them "anti-Soviet" and they then moved to London and later Iceland.
Ashkenazy never wanted to make his movement a political cause, nor was that necessary. His artistry made him a star, taking him around the world. Bangkok hosted him at a concert during the 1960s, where, after a recital in AUA, this writer took him to an outdoor restaurant near the Coronet Hotel. (For the record, he loved the Thai food, but didn't touch the Thai whiskey!)
Since that time, residing now in Switzerland, he has become one of the brightest stars on the musical firmament. His recordings, both as conductor and pianist, of music from Bach to Bartok, including all the great Russian composers, have made his appearances immediate sell-outs.
His secret, outside of a personal modesty and fierce dedication, can be explained with one of his rare quotes about performing.
"I believe," he said in an interview, "that interpretation should be like a transparent glass, a window for the composer's music."
His six children all partake of the talent of mother and father. But Vladimir Junior -- known to the world as Vovka -- has made a special name for himself as a soloist and co-pianist, both with other artists and his father. Married to a ballerina, Vovka studied in London, Iceland and Russia, and is living now in Switzerland. He feels totally at home wherever he goes.
"I spent one-and-a-half years in Russia, five years in the UK and 10 years in Iceland. Iceland was my mother's country and UK became culturally my adoptive country. A love for Russian music is however the greatest manifestation of my Russian heritage."
As for growing up in his musical family, he is certainly singular. The Strauss father and son despised each other. And nobody ever heard the two-dozen Bach family on 12 organs. But Vovka and Vladimir immediately put their personalities together on the piano.
"Growing up as an Ashkenazy was both incredibly stimulating and intimidating. I had my first official piano lessons at a relatively old age of seven. I would play for my father occasionally, and my mother would listen in and tell me off," said Vovka. "She still has a very accurate ear. I love the piano and its repertoire, and always wanted to play the piano professionally. I guess you could say that the intimidation was an imaginary one."
Vovka spent eight years in the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, including working with a Lithuanian teacher, where he learned, like his father, "the Russian method".
"That integrates technical comfort with expressive playing. It is never a purely technical approach but one that describes the whole psychology of performing. It is part of the Russian system to be very methodical; very much to include rituals -- certain moves and visualisations -- and studying the score before deciding what to do before playing the music."
Like his father, Vovka has a wide repertory. Concertos by Rachmaninoff, of course, with Schumann, Grieg, Mendelssoh, Mozart and George Gershwin. Yet Vovka Ashkenazy is a great advocate of chamber music -- especially two-piano music.
"I'm more happy and comfortable with the communication that takes place in chamber music. Besides, it's less stressful than playing your own." Vovka also has a very special interest in Southeast Asia, doing humanitarian work involving the Concerts for Peace in Southeast Asia. He, his father and clarinet-playing brother met with young musicians in Cambodia and the Philippines, giving concerts. And among other links to China, he is the Honorary Artistic Advisor of the Guangzhou Opera House.
Their recital in Bangkok will be international in scope. Two works from Russia, one from Czechoslovakia and the "Spanish" piece from Basque-French composer Maurice Ravel.
Ravel, in fact, was where it all started. At the 125th Anniversary of Steinway Pianos in Hamburg, Germany, Vovka played Ravel with his father. With such success, the two decided to make their first recording, which was an equal success, leading to their recital in Bangkok.
Vovka and Vladimir confess that they speak very little about the music which they perform together, using their individual personalities (Vovka is reportedly more aggressive) to make a special sound. But Vladimir did offer some advice to his son, advice which he himself never kept.
"My father told me not to take part in competitions. First, because music is not a competition, of course. Second, there would be a loss of face for the family if I did not do so well," he said.
"Third," he laughed. "If I won, people would say that's because I was the son of the famous Vladimir Ashkenazy. And anyhow, music is not a competition."
BSO 2016 --- Vladimir & Vovka Ashkenazy 2 Piano Recital is on May 14, 7pm. Tickets from 800, 1,600, 2,200, 2,700, 3,200 baht are now available at all ThaiTicketMajor outlets or by calling www.thaiticketmajor.com. Contact Bangkok Symphony Orchestra Foundation on 02-255-6617–8, 02-254-4954 or visit www.bangkoksymphony.org.
