Pianist Emanuel Ax to Give Master Class at Smith College

World-renowned, Grammy award-winning pianist Emanuel Ax will conduct a master class at Smith College at 4 p.m. Tuesday, February 8, in Sweeney Concert Hall, Sage Hall. The event-which is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis-will begin with Ax offering a musical critique to performing students followed by a question and answer period. The doors will open at 3:30 p.m.

Ax, who will be performing later in the day at a WFCR Radio fundraiser at the Calvin Theater, is known in equal measure for his concert, chamber and recital performances. Highly regarded for his poetic lyricism and brilliant technique, he first gained the attention of the classical music world in 1974 when, at the age of 25, he won first prize in the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv.

Devoted to chamber music, Ax regularly performs duo recitals with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, their recordings together earning them three Grammy awards. He also plays regularly with Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, and his wife, the pianist Yoko Nozaki, with whom he'll be performing at the Calvin Theater.

For more information about the master class at Smith, call Jill Hourihan at (413) 585-7217. For tickets to Ax's 8 p.m. performance at the Calvin Theater, call (413) 586-8686.

January 28, 2000