Felix Ayo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Félix Ayo
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| Birth name | Félix Ayo Losada |
| Born | July 1, 1933 Sestao (Spain) |
| Died | September 24, 2023 (aged 90) Mentana, Rome |
| Instruments | Violin |
Felix Ayo Losada (July 1, 1933, Sestao, Spain – September 24, 2023) was a Spanish born, naturalised Italian, violinist.
He was renowned as a founder of the Italian ensemble I Musici; as an internationally renowned violinist, who was often a soloist, and was a performer of chamber music; as a teacher; and as a recording artist with a career that spanned more than fifty years.
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Early career
He was born in Sestao (Spain). He began his musical studies at the Municipal Conservatory of Sestao. He then continued his music studies at the Municipal Conservatory of Bilbao.
Completing his musical studies with honours at 14 years of age, Felix Ayo continued to study in Paris, Siena and Rome. He was a founder of the ensemble I Musici, and remained their first violin soloist for sixteen years. In 1970 he formed the Quartetto Beethoven di Roma, which was generally considered to be one of the best string trios and piano quartets in existence.
Performances
He played in the most important theatres of the world: Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Teatro Colón, Musikverein, Teatro Real, La Scala, Sydney Opera House, Concertgebouw, and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia. As a soloist he played with a number of important symphony orchestras, including those of Madrid, Copenhagen, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Kammerorchester, the Tokyo String Ensemble, and the Virtuosi di Roma.
Teaching
Ayo taught at the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia, Roma, and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and held master classes in Canada, Australia, the USA, Denmark, Japan, Italy, Spain and Germany, as well as frequently forming part of the jury for international music competitions.
Awards
His recordings won international recognition, winning many prizes including the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, the Edison Prize, the Mar del Plata prize, the Grand Prix du Disque (for his now historic version of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons) and the prize awarded by Italian Record Critics for the Beethoven piano quartets.
Quartetto Beethoven
The Quartetto Beethoven di Roma, with innumerable tours in Europe, Russia, USA, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc., and a continuous presence in international festivals, was one of the finest chamber ensembles in the world.
It consisted of: Felix Ayo, violin, Alfonso Ghedin, viola, Mihai Dancila, cello and Carlo Bruno, piano,
The quartet made many recordings of Piano quartets by Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Fauré, and many others, and has been awarded the Premio Discografico della Critica Italiana.
Felix Ayo's violin
Ayo played a G.B. Guadagnini violin made in 1744.
Recordings
Ayo had a vast discography. Some of the works he was a part of recording are: Bach Brandenburg concertos, Bach violin concertos, Vivaldi violin concerti, Vivaldi Four Seasons, Corelli concerto grossi, Telemann, Albinoni, Tartini, Viotti, Turina, and Granados. He recorded for several record labels, some of them being: Decca, EMI Classics, Dynamic and Philips.
His participation in recordings include works by Tartini, Viotti, Mendelssohn and Turina.
See also
In Spanish: Félix Ayo para niños
