Skip to main content Skip to footer site map

GRAMMY-Award Winner And Internationally Acclaimed Pianist Emanuel Ax Performs April 20 At UNLV

His mix of technical precision and lustrous lyricism has earned him a reputation as one of the most beloved concert pianists of our time.  

GRAMMY-Award Winner And Internationally Acclaimed Pianist Emanuel Ax Performs April 20 At UNLV

The UNLV Performing Arts Center welcomes sought-after GRAMMY-Award winning pianist Emanuel Ax to Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall on Friday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. His mix of technical precision and lustrous lyricism has earned him a reputation as one of the most beloved concert pianists of our time.

One of the most prolific and widely respected concert pianists in modern symphonic music, Ax's crisp moves from fast, bombastic stretches to slow, contemplative passages deftly interpreting Chopin, Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff, and others. He has worked with orchestras in L.A., Boston, Atlanta, New York, Nashville, and Montreal. He has recorded more than 20 discs for RCA Records and has been an exclusive Sony Classical recording artist since 1987.

Ax 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 cellist 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). He was also the winner of the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in 1974, the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists in 1975, and the Avery Fisher Prize in 1979.

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.

Tickets are $20-$50 each (discounts may be available) and may be purchased by telephone at 702-895-ARTS (2787), online at pac.unlv.edu or at the PAC box office from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. When purchasing tickets, consider donating to the Performing Arts Center to provide local students the opportunity to work with all the outstanding artists.

The Performing Arts Center is hosting this concert in honor of Charles Vanda, who served as Director of Concert Hall Programming and then Director of the UNLV Performing Arts Center from 1975 until he died in 1988. Vanda wrote and produced radio and television programs and was a colonel in with Army Intelligence during World War II, then led the Hollywood office of the J. Walter Thompson Agency before coming to UNLV.

Executive Director Lori Cobo and the staff at the UNLV Performing Arts Center dedicate this concert to the memory of local arts patron Bernice Fischer, who passed away in November 2022. Her love for the arts in Las Vegas and her joyous spirit will be missed.

The Performing Arts Center at UNLV is participating in Arts & Economic Prosperity 6 (AEP6), the most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts and culture industry ever conducted in the United States. Administered by Americans for the Arts, AEP6 will examine the economic impact of the arts and culture in Clark County and 386 additional communities representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Concertgoers will be able to complete a survey to assist in this study of the economy and the arts in Clark County.

When visiting the Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall to see Emmanuel Ax, be sure to check out the free and special exhibit featuring 12 pieces of art from the collection of artist and beloved UNLV professor, Rita Deanin Abbey, located in the lobby of the concert hall.



Photos: POTTED POTTER Celebrates 1000th Show at The Magic Attic Photo
Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Potter Experience - A Parody by Dan and Jeff continues to cast a spell on Las Vegas!  The hit, family-friendly show celebrated its 1000th performance at The Magic Attic showroom inside Horseshoe Las Vegas on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Check out photos here!

Comedian Don Barnhart Brings More Laughter To Las Vegas With Nightly Residency Photo
From entertaining the troops around the world to headlining the top comedy clubs and cruise ships, comedian Don Barnhart sets the watermark high with his own residency in Las Vegas.

Feature: THE 19TH ANNUAL COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS HALL GALA TO HONOR BRAD GARRETT Photo
The 19th Annual College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame will honor those who have significantly impacted performing art, visual arts, and architecture in Southern Nevada. Iconic comedy club owner, Emmy, and SAG Award-winning actor, comedian, and writer, Brad Garrett, is known for his role as Robert Barone on the television series Everybody Loves Raymond. The gala celebration will be held in the Ballroom in the UNLV Student Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on March 21.

Feature: Elyzabeth Diaga Returns to Las Vegas Performing the Queens of Rock Photo
Queens of Rock, a one-woman rock show starring Elyzabeth Diaga, celebrates the music of the greatest female rock icons of the last four decades. She will pay homage to over 15 legends in Queens of Rock, performing at the Orleans Showroom at The Orleans on March 20, March 23, March 24, and March 25.


More Hot Stories For You


Photos: POTTED POTTER Celebrates 1000th Show at The Magic AtticPhotos: POTTED POTTER Celebrates 1000th Show at The Magic Attic
March 18, 2023

Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Potter Experience - A Parody by Dan and Jeff continues to cast a spell on Las Vegas!  The hit, family-friendly show celebrated its 1000th performance at The Magic Attic showroom inside Horseshoe Las Vegas on Thursday, March 16, 2023. Check out photos here!

Comedian Don Barnhart Brings More Laughter To Las Vegas With Nightly ResidencyComedian Don Barnhart Brings More Laughter To Las Vegas With Nightly Residency
March 18, 2023

From entertaining the troops around the world to headlining the top comedy clubs and cruise ships, comedian Don Barnhart sets the watermark high with his own residency in Las Vegas.

Freestyle Explosion Throwback Jam Returns to Orleans Arena in JuneFreestyle Explosion Throwback Jam Returns to Orleans Arena in June
March 9, 2023

Back by popular demand, Pacific Concert Group’s Freestyle Explosion Throwback Jam returns to Orleans Arena on Saturday, June 10, featuring top ‘80s and ‘90s pop and rock artists.

Comedian Chris Tucker Announces Return To Encore Theater At Wynn Las Vegas, July 14-15Comedian Chris Tucker Announces Return To Encore Theater At Wynn Las Vegas, July 14-15
March 6, 2023

Following multiple sold-out performances at Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas, award-winning actor and comedian, Chris Tucker, will return to the stage for his latest headlining engagement, July 14-15, 2023. The Rush Hour star is a longtime crowd favorite and one of the must-see Las Vegas performances of the summer. Tickets for both performances will go on sale to the public on Friday, March 10, 2023 at 10 a.m. PST.

Open-Door Playhouse to Present FLESH AND BLOOD in MarchOpen-Door Playhouse to Present FLESH AND BLOOD in March
March 4, 2023

The one act comedy Flesh and Blood is set in a Jewish cemetery in Queens, N.Y. It is pre-dawn. Three headstones have been marked with swastikas. Shelia Krickstein appears and crosses to the desecrated grave of her mother. She's looking for the caretaker who called her with the news, but instead, encounters an older grieving woman in 50s attire and, later, a judgmental Rabbi.