Mischa Maisky |

Misha Maisky

Misha Maisky is known for being the only cellist in the world who studied under both Mstislav Rostropovich and Grigory Pyatigorsky. M. L. Rostropovich enthusiastically spoke of his student as “… one of the most outstanding talents among the young generation of cellists. Poetry and extraordinary subtlety are combined in his playing with a powerful temperament and brilliant technique.

A native of Latvia, Misha Maisky was educated at the Moscow Conservatory. Moving to Israel in 1972, the musician was enthusiastically received in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York and Tokyo, as well as in other major music capitals of the world.

He considers himself a citizen of the world: “I play the Italian cello, French and German bows on Austrian and German strings. My daughter was born in France, the eldest son in Belgium, the middle son in Italy, and the youngest in Switzerland. I drive a Japanese car, I wear a Swiss watch, the jewelry I wear is made in India, and I feel at home wherever people appreciate and enjoy classical music.”

As an exclusive artist of Deutsche Grammophon over the past 25 years he has made over 30 recordings with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Orchester de Paris, Orpheus New York Chamber Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and many others.

One of the peaks of Misha Maisky’s career was the world tour in 2000, dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the death of J.S. Bach, which included more than 100 concerts. In the same year, Misha Maisky recorded Bach’s Six Suites for cello solo for the third time, thus expressing his deep admiration for the great composer.

The artist’s recordings have been critically acclaimed around the world and have received prestigious awards such as the Japanese Record Academy Prize (five times), the Echo Deutscher Schallplattenpreis (thrice), the Grand Prix du Disque and the Diapason d’Or of the Year, as well as multiple nominations for “Grammy”.

A world-class musician, a welcome guest at the most famous festivals, Misha Maisky has also collaborated with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, Charles Duthoit , Maris Jansons, Valery Gergiev, Gustavo Dudamel. His stage partners are Marta Argerich, Radu Lupu, Nelson Freire, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Joshua Bell, Julian Rakhlin, Jeanine Jansen and many other outstanding musicians.