On April 23rd, classical pianist Emanuel Ax will be joined by fellow pianists Yefim Bronfman and Marc-André Hamelin for a review of the legendary pianists who have performed at Carnegie Hall. This live-stream event, Emanuel Ax: Live with Carnegie Hall, will be available on Carnegie Hall’s website and their Facebook page. The start time is 2:00 PM EDT/11:00 AM PDT.
The old joke about how you get to Carnegie Hall seems like it was written about pianists. Taking the stage for a solo recital there is, arguably, the pinnacle of success for a classical pianist.
Ax made his own debut at Carnegie Hall in 1974 and had his first recital there in 1982. Bronfman had his debut there in 1976 with his first recital in 1989. Hamelin won the 1985 Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition for Pianists and had his first solo recital there in 1988.
Some key moments in Carnegie Hall’s history of piano performances:
1891: Jan Paderewski made his US debut
1906: Artur Rubinstein made his US debut
1909: Sergei Rachmaninoff made his Carnegie Hall debut
1925: George Gershwin gave the world premiere performance of Concerto in F
1928: Vladimir Horowitz made his US debut
1957: Glenn Gould made his Carnegie Hall recital debut
1960: Sviatoslav Richter made his Carnegie Hall debut
1981: Martha Argerich made her Carnegie Hall recital debut
1989: Maria Joao Pires made her Carnegie Hall recital debut
1990: Evgeny Kissin made his Carnegie Hall recital debut
1991: Stephen Hough made his Carnegie Hall recital debut
2001: Lang Lang made his Carnegie Hall debut
There’s a lot of history in this building which gives all three musicians a lot to talk about. Hopefully they will also perform. Either way, this is definitely going to be an interesting hour or so.
And if you can’t make the Emanuel Ax: Live with Carnegie Hall livestream on April 23rd, the video will be available a few hours after its conclusion on the Carnegie Hall website.
Photo of Emanuel Ax © Lisa-Marie Mazzucco/Courtesy of Carnegie Hall
