Dimitri Ashkenazy

Clarinettist Dimitri Ashkenazy is internationally prominent both as a concerto soloist and as a chamber music player. 
 Ashkenazy was born in New York on October 8, 1969. His mother, Þórunn Jóhannsdóttir, is Icelandic, and he spent his childhood in Iceland. He took up the piano at six but switched to the clarinet at ten. His family moved to Lucerne in 1978, and he has lived in Switzerland ever since. He studied clarinet with Giambattista Sisini and remained with that teacher as he won several competitions in his late teens and entered the Lucerne Conservatory, graduating in 1993. Ashkenazy has had an impressive international career as a concerto soloist, performing in such famous venues as the Hollywood Bowl, the Rudolfinum in Prague, and the Royal Festival Hall in London. He has appeared with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, among other top groups. Dimitri has championed contemporary music, premiering clarinet concertos by Richard Festinger, Marco Tutino, Filippo del Corno, and George Palmer. An enthusiastic chamber music player, Ashkenazy has collaborated with renowned instrumentalists and singers, including soprano Barbara Bonney and pianists Bernd Glemser, his father Vladimir and his brother Vovka Ashkenazy. 
 Dimitri has released more than 30 recordings, for the Decca, Pan, spotify:search:label%3A%22Dux%22 , Sheva, VDE Gallo, ABC Classics and paladino labels, among others.