rvpiano
Yes I saw Ashkenazy in local high school auditorium, nice big auditorium, with a stage, not a cafeteria.
In those days he was not allowed to travel freely outside USSR.
So programs existed that sponsored a series of recitals, and USSR cooperated with some such programs. That is how Ashkenazy got here.
Later he negotiated a deal so he could live in Iceland, then he became a citizen there, and eventually as USSR loosened up more, he moved to Switzerland. Iceland seems "out of it", but in fact it was a sound choice for him, it is a short flight to many of the finest concert halls of Europe.
Richter was not allowed to travel to USA until 1960. He wrote that his greatest pleasure was cruising eastern Europe in a car (with Yamaha van, piano and Techs close behind), and holding recitals in obscure town churches on the spur of the moment.
Unfortunately I missed Richter's Carnegie Hall debut. My aunt was a graduate student at Julliard, but she could not get tickets.
Yes I saw Ashkenazy in local high school auditorium, nice big auditorium, with a stage, not a cafeteria.
In those days he was not allowed to travel freely outside USSR.
So programs existed that sponsored a series of recitals, and USSR cooperated with some such programs. That is how Ashkenazy got here.
Later he negotiated a deal so he could live in Iceland, then he became a citizen there, and eventually as USSR loosened up more, he moved to Switzerland. Iceland seems "out of it", but in fact it was a sound choice for him, it is a short flight to many of the finest concert halls of Europe.
Richter was not allowed to travel to USA until 1960. He wrote that his greatest pleasure was cruising eastern Europe in a car (with Yamaha van, piano and Techs close behind), and holding recitals in obscure town churches on the spur of the moment.
Unfortunately I missed Richter's Carnegie Hall debut. My aunt was a graduate student at Julliard, but she could not get tickets.