Felix Ayo

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
In this
Spanish name, the first or paternal surname
is Ayo and the second or maternal family name is Losada.

Felix Ayo
Grand Prix du disque
  • Edison Award

    • Felix Ayo Losada (1 July 1933 – 24 September 2023) was a Spanish-born Italian violinist. He was a founder of the Italian ensemble I Musici and of the Quartetto Beethoven di Roma. He played in major concert halls of the world as a soloist and especially as a chamber musician. In a career that spanned more than fifty years, he was a prolific recording artist, and an academic teacher.

    His 1955 recording of Vivaldi's

    Grand Prix du disque
    , and has remained a reference recording.

    Life and career

    Félix Ayo Losada was born in Sestao,[1] on 1 July 1933.[2] An uncle was a violinist, and he began musical studies at the Municipal Conservatory of Sestao at age six.[3] He continued his studies at the Municipal Conservatory of Bilbao, completing with honours at age 14.[1] At age 16, he achieved the first prize of the Ibáñez de Betolaza Competition in Bilbao, with a scholarship to expand his studies,[2] which he continued in Paris, Siena and Rome,[2][1] where he studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia with Rèmy Principe. He became an Italian citizen.[4]

    In 1949 Ayo first played as a soloist with the

    first violin soloist for sixteen years.[1][2] Their 1955 recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons meant a breakthrough for the ensemble,[5] becoming a bestseller. They played and recorded Baroque music before early music ensembles turned to the repertoire.[6]

    In 1970 Ayo formed the Quartetto Beethoven di Roma piano quartet,[1][3] with Alfonso Ghedin as violist, Mihai Dancila as cellist, and pianist Carlo Bruno,[7] because he wanted to turn to more Romantic repertoire.[3]

    Performances

    Ayo played in the most important concert halls the world:

    Accademia di Santa Cecilia.[1] As a soloist he played with important symphony orchestras, including those of Madrid, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Kammerorchester Berlin, the Tokyo String Ensemble, and the Virtuosi di Roma. He collaborated with oboist Heinz Holliger, trumpeter Maurice André, and Frans Brüggen, among others.[6]

    Ayo mainly played a

    Gennaro Gagliano violin from 1768.[4]

    Quartetto Beethoven di Roma

    The Quartetto Beethoven di Roma, with innumerable tours in Europe, Russia, USA, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc., and a continuous presence at international festivals, has been regarded as one of the finest

    chamber ensembles in the world.[2] The quartet made many recordings of piano quartets by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Fauré, and Mahler, among others,[4] and was awarded the Premio Discografico della Critica Italiana. The players were credited with communicating in "the unified precision and purpose of long association".[7]

    Teaching

    Ayo taught at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia,[1][2][6] and held master classes in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Spain, Australia, Canada, the United States and Japan. He was a juror for international music competitions.[1][2][6]

    Personal life

    Ayo died on 24 September 2023, at age 90.[1][2][4][6]<

    Recordings

    Ayo had a vast discography.

    Albinoni and Geminiani, among others.[4] He recorded for several record labels, such as Decca, EMI Classics, Dynamic and Philips.[10]

    Ayo's recordings also included Bach's Brandenburg Concertos,[6][10] and Bach's works for violin solo, the sonatas and partitas.[4] He said about the solo violin recordings: "It's the best thing I've ever done in my life and what justifies it".[3]

    He recorded eight violin sonatas by Giovanni Battista Viotti with Corrado De Bernart, described by a reviewer as compositions of "grandeur, command and virtuosity", with a "compact command of lyricism and his gift for gracious turns of phrase"; he notes Ayo's "sweetly focused tone", summarising: "Here, in short, Viotti sings."[11] Ayo's late recordings include works by Tartini, Mendelssohn and Turina.[1]

    Awards

    Ayo's recordings won international recognition, winning many prizes including the

    Grand Prix du disque for his now historic version of The Four Seasons,[6] and the prize awarded by Italian Record Critics for the Beethoven piano quartets. He was awarded the Premio Roma and the Premio San Michele for his dedication to music.[1]

    References

    1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Violinist Felix Ayo has died". The Strad. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
    2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Muere a los 90 años Félix Ayo, prestigioso violinista vasco cofundador de I Musici". Nius Diario (in Spanish). 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
    3. ^
      El Pais
       (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
    4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Molkhou, Jean-Michel (27 September 2023). "Les I Musici perdent un père". classica.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 October 2023.
    5. ^
      ISBN 978-0-81-088886-9
      .
    6. ^ a b c d e f g "Felix Ayo". NPO Radio 4 (in Dutch). 27 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
    7. ^ a b Mangan, Timothy (10 November 1989). "Quartetto Beethoven di Roma at the Wilshire Ebell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
    8. Muziekweb
      . 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
    9. ^ Anderson, Nicholas (October 1988). "Vivaldi Four Seasons". The Strad. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
    10. ^
      ISBN 0-14-046958-3
    11. ^ Woolf, Jonathan (April 2012). "Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755-1824) / Violin Sonatas". MusicWeb International. Retrieved 1 October 2023.

    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Felix_Ayo&oldid=1220505023"