Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (sometimes transliterated Ashkenazi) (Russian: Влади́мир А́шкенази) (born July 6, 1937), is a conductor and pianist. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, but has been an Icelandic citizen since 1972. A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, he won second prize in the prestigious International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and shared first prize in the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Competition. He often recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; two of these recordings were of the Emperor Concerto by Beethoven, and a number of Rachmaninoff pieces (including his Second Concerto). He recored the whole 24 Preludes and Fugues of Shostakovich. In 1998, Ashkenazy became principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.