Mischa Maisky

Born in 1948 in Riga, Latvia—then part of the Soviet Union—cellist Mischa Maisky seemed well on his way to classical stardom as a child, entering the Leningrad Conservatory in 1962. Three years later, he performed with the Leningrad Philharmonic and began studies with the legendary Mstislav Rostropovich in 1966 at the Moscow Conservatory. But just prior to finishing, he was arrested by Soviet authorities for purchasing a tape recorder on the black market, leading to 18 months of imprisonment and hard labour. Unable to earn his degree, he eventually moved to Israel in 1972 and belatedly launched his international career, performing the following year at Carnegie Hall with the Pittsburgh Philharmonic. Following studies with Gregor Piatigorsky in Los Angeles, he began an exclusive, prodigious record deal with Deutsche Grammophon in 1985, resulting in nearly four dozen recordings, including two lush accounts of Bach’s cello suites (rec. 1985 and 1999), and Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky trios with Martha Argerich and Gidon Kremer (rec. 1998). In 1995 he finally returned to Russia, where he performed with the Russian National Orchestra. Maisky’s extroverted style, accented by his unruly grey hair, is notoriously dramatic, with gestures that signal his focus and intensity.