MISHA MAISKY

Misha Maisky is a Latvian cellist and one of the most outstanding performing artists of our time. Misha decided to become a cellist at eight, and at 17 won first prize at the All-Union Cello Competition. He is a student of Mstislav Rostropovich.

In 1970 he was arrested on false charges and placed in a labor camp near Gorky (now - Samara) for 18 months. The event turned him into a dissident.

He emigrated from the Soviet Union to Israel in 1973 and in the same year won the Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Florence and made a successful debut in the U.S. at Carnegie Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under William Steinberg. After the concert, a patron who wished to remain anonymous gave him a cello made by the 18^th century Italian master Montagnana. Maisky continues to play this instrument today.

Today, although Maisky is an Israeli citizen he does not often visit the country due to the lack of time. He is constantly performing with musicians from all around the world: pianist Radu Lupu, violinist Gidon Kremer, conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy and Zubin Mehta, to name a few.

The cellist has travelled across the globe with his concerts: to Europe, North and South America, Australia, South Africa and the Far East. He has performed with such renowned orchestras as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Tokyo Symphony, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Prague Symphony, the Netherlands Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra and others.

Currently Misha Maisky resides in Belgium.