Mischa Maisky
The Soviet-born Israeli cellist Mischa Maisky has a distinctive, arch-Romantic style that carries forward a Russian tradition of intense expressivity. The only cellist to have studied with the Russian giants Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky, he has himself become an influential teacher.
Maisky was born January 10, 1948, in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Soviet Union. The Latvian form of his name was Miša Maiskis. His older brother Valery was an organist and harpsichordist. Maisky took up the cello at eight and entered the Riga Conservatory, but he chafed under the school's rigid curriculum. In 1965, he moved to the larger city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and he quickly flourished. He won a national cello competition, performed with the Leningrad Philharmonic, and took a prize at Moscow's International Tchaikovsky Competition. On the jury there was Rostropovich, who invited Maisky to enroll at the Moscow Conservatory as his student.
Maisky seemed set for a brilliant career, but then his sister emigrated to Israel, and this put Maisky himself under suspicion. After committing a minor crime (buying a black market tape recorder), Maisky was imprisoned for 18 months in a labor camp. When he emerged, he was drafted into the Soviet military, but avoided service by checking himself into a psychiatric facility. Finally, Maisky was allowed to emigrate to Israel on the condition that he pay back the entire cost of his education. Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek arranged for support from U.S. sources, and Maisky moved to Israel in 1972; he would not return to Russia until 1995. He toured with the Israel Philharmonic, including in the U.S., and in California, he met Piatigorsky, who agreed to take Maisky on as his final student.
In the late 1970s, Maisky appeared in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and played critically acclaimed recitals with pianist Radu Lupu. In the following years, he would attract still more distinguished recital partners, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Martha Argerich, and Gidon Kremer. His performances of Bach's solo cello works were especially notable; he recorded them for Deutsche Grammophon, and in the year 2000, gave 100 Bach performances worldwide, including three in a single day. Maisky has performed concertos under top contemporary conductors, including Valery Gergiev, Mariss Jansons, and Gustavo Dudamel.
Maisky has recorded the major cello repertory for Deutsche Grammophon, issuing new music almost annually, and he has teamed with his daughter, pianist Lily Maisky, for several albums, including ¡España! (2011) and 20th Century Classics (2019).
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Mendelssohn: Cello Sonatas; Songs without Words
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mischa Maisky - Adagio
Mischa Maisky, Orchestre de Paris, Semyon Bychkov
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No.1; Cello Sonata No.1; Suite, Op. 16; Le Cygne From Le Carnival Des Animaux; Allegro Apassionato, Op. 43; Romance In F Major, Op. 36
Mischa Maisky, Daria Hovora, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mischa Maisky / Martha Argerich - In Concert (Live)
Martha Argerich, Mischa Maisky
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mischa Maisky - Après un rêve
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mischa Maisky - Song of the Cello
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov - Elegie
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Cello Sonatas Op.69 & 102; Variations
Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Adagietto
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 17 Aug 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vocalise
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Favourite Cello Concertos (2 CD's)
Concertos - Released by Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Cello Sonata No.1 in E Minor Op.38
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: Cello Concerto op.85 · Enigma Variations · Pomp and Circumstance 1 & 4
Mischa Maisky, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mischa Maisky - Great Recordings
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 8 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cellissimo
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Complete Sonatas, Partitas & Suties for Violin, Cello & Guitar
Shlomo Mintz, Mischa Maisky, Göran Söllscher
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cello-Träume - Romantische Klänge zum Verlieben (Classical Choice)
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Triple Concerto in C major op.56/Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor op.54
Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon, Mischa Maisky, Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana, Alexander Rabinovitch
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 3 May 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak: Cello Concerto / Bloch: Schelomo
Mischa Maisky, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Cello Concertos, Nos. 1, Op. 107 & 2 Op. 126
Mischa Maisky, London Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 15 Dec 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vocalise
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo