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Vladimir Ashkkenazy

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Musician

The Resume

    (July 6, 1937- )
    Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
    Classical pianist and conductor
    Recordings include Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Bach's French Suites, Mozart's complete piano concertos, and Beethoven's complete piano concertos
    Recorded Beethoven's complete violin sonatas with Itzhak Perlman
    Conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1987-94), the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (1998-2003) and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (2009-13)
    Became a citizen of Iceland (1972)

Why he might be annoying:

    He claims his hands actually are not well suited for a pianist: 'My fingers since birth are built in such a way I can hardly play. I need to practice quite a lot -- still -- simply to play certain passages that for other players are easy to do.'
    He prefers to sprint on and off stage rather than walk.
    He sometimes uses the conductor's baton as a backscratcher.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He defected from the Soviet Union while on a tour a Britain (1967).
    He was a founder of the Reykjavik Arts Festival (1970).
    He won five Grammys.
    He has been married to Thorunn 'Dody' Johannsdottir for over fifty years.
    He also had a golden anniversary with his record label, recording for Decca for over fifty years.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 91.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 60 Votes: 46.67% Annoying