Mischa Maisky

He considers himself a citizen of the world: “I’m playing an Italian cello, with French and German bows and Austrian and German strings, my 6 children were born in 4 different countries, my second wife is half Sri Lankan-half Italian, I’m driving a Japanese and an American electric car, I wear an Indian necklace and a Swiss watch and I feel at home everywhere where people appreciate and enjoy classical music.”

As an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist for more than 30 years he made well over 35 recordings with such orchestras as the Vienna, Berlin and Israel Philharmonics, the London Symphony, L‘Orchestre de Paris, Orpheus und Chamber Orchestra of Europe and others.

In August 2018, the very personal album “Adagietto” was released with his pianist daughter Lily, and featuring bonus live recordings with Martha Argerich, Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin and his violinist son Sascha Maisky. Included is a multi-track arrangement of Mahler’s Adagietto from his 5th Symphony with Maisky playing all parts (except the harp), a project the cellist had dreamed of for many years.

His latest recording, released in autumn 2019, is entitled “20th Century Classics” and includes a Bonus CD of the world premiere of Benjamin Yusupov’s cello concerto (dedicated to Mischa Maisky) as well as a multi-track recording of “Bachianas Brasileiras” of Villa Lobos.

Maisky’s recordings have enjoyed world-wide critical acclaim and have been awarded the prestigious Record Academy Prize in Tokyo five times and the Echo Deutscher Schallplattenpreis three times, as well as the Grand Prix du Disque in Paris and the Diapason d’Or of the Year, as well as receiving several coveted Grammy nominations.

One of the highlights of his career was the year 2000 - it was mainly devoted to a world-wide Bach tour of over 100 concerts! In order to express his deep admiration for this great composer Mischa Maisky has also recorded Bach's Solo Suites for the third time.

Truly a world-class musician and a regular guest at most major International Festivals, he has collaborated with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, Charles Dutoit, Yuri Temirkanov, Mariss Jansons, Valery Gergiev, Kirill Petrenko, Paavo Järvi and Gustavo Dudamel. His musician partnerships have included artists such as Martha Argerich, Radu Lupu, Nelson Freire, Evgeny Kissin, Itzhak Perlman, Lang Lang, Peter Serkin, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Joshua Bell, Julian Rachlin and Janine Jansen to name just a few.