Born to Polish parents in what is today Lviv, Ukraine, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Mr. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of his first appearance with the orchestra, the 2025/26 season begins with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Carnegie Hall on October 31. Fall also includes an Asian tour that will take him to Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong. Following the world premiere at Tanglewood in summer 2025, the concerto written for him by John Williams will have its Boston Symphony subscription debut in January with the NY premiere one month later with New York Philharmonic. As a guest artist he will return to orchestras in Dallas, St. Louis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Charleston, Madison, Naples and New Jersey. In recital he can be heard in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Santa Barbara, Des Moines, Cedar Falls, Schenectady and Princeton. An extensive European tour will include concerts in Munich, Prague, Berlin, Rome and Torino.

Mr. Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987 and following the success of the Brahms Trios with Kavakos and Ma, the trio launched an ambitious, multi-year project to record all the Beethoven Trios and Symphonies arranged for trio of which the first three discs have been released. He has received GRAMMY^® Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of GRAMMY-winning recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004/05 season Mr. Ax contributed to an International EMMY^® Award-Winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In 2013, Mr. Ax’s recording Variations received the Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music/Piano).

Mr. Ax is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and Columbia University. For more information about Mr. Ax’s career, please visit EmanuelAx.com.

Photo: Nigel Parry

Recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant, 30-year-old American pianist Mackenzie Melemed has emerged as one of the most distinctive musical voices of his generation, admired for his nuanced interpretations, technical finesse, and deep artistic sensibility. Hailed as “an excellent young pianist” by the New York Times, Melemed enjoyed an abundance of early stage experience, with over 500 performances to his name by age 13, undoubtedly one of the most seasoned pianists among his peers. Whether in recital, chamber music, or orchestral settings, his performances are marked by a desire to communicate, to reveal, and to connect—with the score, with fellow musicians, and most of all, with the audience.

Born in Massachusetts, Melemed began piano studies at age four, and soon after was performing weekly for senior citizens. At the age of five, he made a national appearance on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and by nine, he was headlining a 60-show run at the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. From nine to thirteen, he was invited annually to perform at the White House during the Holiday Open House celebrations—experiences that proved instrumental in shaping his identity as a performer. This wide-ranging exposure fostered a deep comfort on stage and a natural ease in sharing music.

Melemed’s artistry goes beyond performance, combining music and storytelling into memorable experiences for both newcomers and seasoned listeners. Through thoughtfully curated programs that blend familiar works with rare discoveries, he creates intimate connections with audiences, sharing insights that illuminate the music. His vision extends beyond the concert hall: he aims to spark curiosity for lesser-known composers while inspiring future pianists to explore uncharted repertoire, gradually expanding what we consider essential to the classical canon.

A laureate of the 2021 American Pianists Awards and a laureate of the 1st China International Music Competition, Melemed was the only pianist to receive an 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant—one of the highest honors bestowed upon young American classical musicians; presented by Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Career Grants are awarded to American instrumentalists with the largest prospects for a major solo career. He has performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Edmonton Symphony, the Polish Radio Orchestra, and other prominent ensembles, and has appeared in recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, as well as at major venues and festivals across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Melemed, a Steinway Artist and a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he studied with Robert McDonald and Emanuel Ax (BM, MM, and Artist Diploma), is particularly drawn to music that lies just off the beaten path. Alongside the classical and romantic core repertoire, he has developed a reputation for championing lesser-known works and rarely-performed piano concerti, He views commissioning as vital to the future of the arts, a belief reflected in Israeli American composer Avner Dorman’s recent Piano Concerto No.3, written for Melemed and premiered in Europe and Canada. His upcoming debut album reflects this balance of tradition and innovation, pairing works by composers he feels especially connected to—Bach, Brahms, and Liszt—with new commissions by Sir Stephen Hough (UK), Laura Kaminsky (USA), and Avner Dorman.

In anticipation of the United States’ 250th anniversary, he is currently planning what may well be the largest recital tour of American piano music in recent history, Keys Across America — a project rooted in both personal and artistic conviction.

Since 2020, Melemed has lived in Finland. His success following the 2017 Maj Lind Piano Competition, coupled with his fluency in Finnish from Columbia University language courses, launched his successful performance career with invitations to perform with nearly all of Finland’s orchestras and at major music festivals.

Former teachers include Dean Arvidson, Alexander Korsantia, Olga Rogach and William Smiddy.

photo: Jiyang Chen