He is known for his chamber music collaborations with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Young Uck Kim, as well as his piano recitals and performances with major orchestras in the world.

The same year, he won honorable mention at the VIII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.

For Ax, saying which pianist is better is only a subjective judgment at the highest levels, "can anyone really go to piano recital and say Horowitz is better than Rubinstein?

Though he admits that competitions are a necessary means toward success for pianists, Ax hopes to never "sit on a jury and eliminate people".

Ax also played quartets briefly with Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Jaime Laredo.

Before the quartet disbanded in 2001 due to the death of Stern, they recorded works for Sony by Brahms, Fauré, Beethoven, Schumann and Mozart.

[7] Ax is a particular supporter of contemporary composers and has given three world premieres in the last few seasons; Century Rolls by John Adams, Seeing by Christopher Rouse and Red Silk Dance by Bright Sheng.

He also performs works by such diverse figures as Michael Tippett, Hans Werner Henze, Joseph Schwantner, Arnold Schoenberg and Paul Hindemith, as well as more traditional composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin.

[14] Ax co-constructed the April 19, 2017 New York Times Crossword Puzzle and is one of the ambassadors to Music Traveler, together with Billy Joel, Hans Zimmer, John Malkovich, Sean Lennon, and Adrien Brody.