Mischa Maisky - 10 Classic Albums (2013)

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

CD 1 2
J. S. BACH: 6 Suites for Solo Violoncello
CD 1: nos. 1, 2 & 6
CD 2: nos. 3, 4 & 5
463 3142 (CD 1 & 2 only) Recorded July & August 1999

CD 3
MEDITATION
Works by Bach/Gounod, Handel, Lully, Gluck, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, De Falla, Fauré, Massenet, Saint-Saens, Ravel, Anon, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Kreisler
Pavel Gililov, piano
431 5442
Recorded October 1987

CD 4
ELGAR: Cello Concerto in E minor op. 85
TCHAIKOVSKY: Variations on a Rococo Theme op 33
Philharmonia Orchestra / Giuseppe Sinopoli
431 685-2 Recorded March 1990

CD 5
SHOSTAKOVICH
Cello Concerto no. 1 op. 107
Cello Concerto no. 2 op. 126
London Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
445 8212 Recorded August 1993

CD 6
SAINT-SAËNS
Cello Concerto no. 1 in A minor op. 33
The Swan
Allegro appassionato op. 43; Romance op. 36; Suite op 16;
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Cello Sonata no. 1 in E minor op. 32
Daria Hovora, piano
457 5992 Recorded March 1997, January 1998 (Sonata)

CD 7
SCHUMANN
Fantasiestücke op. 73; Adagio and Allegro op. 70; 5 Stücke im Volkston op. 102
Martha Argerich, piano
Cello Concerto in A minor op. 129
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra 469 524-2 Recorded March 1997 (Concerto), December 1999

CD 8
APRES UN REVE
Works by Bizet, Chausson, Debussy, Duparc, Fauré, Hahn, Massenet, Poulenc, Ravel
Daria Hovora, piano
457 6572 Recorded May 1999

CD 9
MENDELSSOHN
Cello Sonata no. 1 op. 45
Cello Sonata no. 2 op. 58
Variations op. 17
Songs without Words op. 109, op. 62 nos. 1 & 6; Auf Flügeln des Gesanges, Schilflied, Suleika, Die Liebende schreibt
Sergio Tiempo, piano
471 5652 Recorded February 2002

CD 10
DVORÁK: Cello Concerto in B minor op. 104
R. STRAUSS: Don Quixote
Tabea Zimmermann, viola (Strauss) / Berliner Philharmoniker / Zubin Mehta
474 7802 Recorded December 2002 Live recording

CD 11
VOCALISE - Russian Romances
Works by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Dargomizhsky, Mussorgsky, Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky, Cui, Glazunov, Rachmaninov. Anon.
Pavel Gililov, piano
477 5743 Recorded January 2005
Live recording