SUMMERTIME – INESSA GALANTE & FRIENDS
Dzintari Chamber Music Hall
His Majesty Ensemble
Mischa Maisky (cello)
Lily Maisky (piano)
Program: Russian composers’ songs – arrangements for cello and piano
Schostakovich – Cello Sonata

Following a period of harassment by Soviet authorities, Mischa Maisky emigrated in 1972 to Israel, where his sister had settled several years before, and now lives in Belgium. In 1973, he won the Gaspar Cassado International Cello Competition in Florence, and later that year made his debut at New York's Carnegie Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under William Steinberg. After this concert, an anonymous admirer gave Maisky a Montagnana cello from the 18th century - the instrument he still uses today. In 1974, Mischa Maisky studied for several months with Gregor Piatigorsky, thus becoming the great master's last student and the only other person ever to have studied with both Piatigorsky and Rostropovich.
Since then Mischa Maisky has been enthusiastically received in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York and Tokyo along with the rest of the major musical centres of the world. In 1995 he returned to Moscow after a 23 year absence to give a concert and to record with the Russian National Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev. In 2000 he celebrated the Bach aniversary year with a marathon tour covering several continents, including special events in major centres (including London’s South Bank Centre) playing all 6 solo suites and the 3 piano and cello sonatas in one day. DG also released a re-interpretation of the solo suites, following the huge success of his original recording. Truly a world class musician, he has had partnerships with artists such as Martha Argerich, Radu Lupu, Gidon Kremer, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim and Giuseppe Sinopoli, to name just a few.
Following his recording of the Brahms Double Concerto with Gidon Kremer and the Vienna Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein, in 1985 Mischa Maisky became exclusive to Deutsche Grammophon, winning much acclaim and three Tokyo Academy Awards for his many recordings which include: two recordings of the Bach solo cello suites (Grand Prix du Disque), sonatas by Bach and Beethoven with Martha Argerich, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky Trios with Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich, and four discs of encore favourites, featuring Maisky’s own transcriptions of songs by Brahms, Schubert and French composers. His concerto recordings have included the Schumann Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic under Bernstein, the Dvorak Concerto and Bloch's Schelemo with the Israel Philharmonic, also with Bernstein, Haydn with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Elgar and Tchaikovsky with the Philharmonia and Sinopoli, Shostakovich with the London Symphony Orchestra under Michael Tilson Thomas, Vivaldi, Boccherini,Tchaikovsky, Schumann and Saint-Saens with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Prokofiev and Miaskovsky with Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra. The late releases include the Brahms Piano Quintet and Schumann Piano Trio with Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer and Yuri Bashmet, the Mendelssohn sonatas with Sergio Tiempo, and a live recital disc with Martha Argerich (Chopin, Debussy, Franck).
Lily Maisky (piano) was born in Paris in 1987, but moved to Brussels soon after. She began her piano studies at the age of four, with Lyl Tiempo. She has received master classes or musical advice from others including Martha Argerich, Dmitri Bashkirov, Joseph Kalichstein, Evgeny Mogilevsky, Pavel Gililov, Vitali Margulis and Marielle Labeque. She also participated in the prestigious Verbier Academy and the Oxford Philomusica piano courses in the summer of 2004.
In 1997, Lily took part in a performance of “The Carnival of the Animals” within the Rainforest Foundation Charity Gala Concert in Carnegie Hall, from which a recording was issued. Concert appearances have taken her across Europe, notably in a Gala concert in the Freiburg Zelt Music Festival in Germany. She also recently performed solo in the Royal Festival Hall in London, as well as well as Grieg and Beethoven Triple Concertos in Tsunami Charity concert in Belgium. Lily is currently involved in a series of recitals with her father Mischa Maisky throughout Europe as well as a tour of Japan in October 2005.
Lily has recently completed her studies at the Purcell School of Music in the UK, which she attended since 2001, studying with Ilana Davids as well as Jazz Piano with Simon Colam. |