. . . as soon as Mischa Maisky plays the first note, it is clear: the grand gestures are there in the service of an interpretation that aims to reveal the music's innermost essence . . . Maisky's playing is marked by razor sharpness and biting humour, studded with moments of deep longing . . . The audience went wild with appreciation . . .
Hamburg concert review, Hamburger Abendblatt, 11 April 2005

"His playing combines poetry and exquisite delicacy with great temperament and brilliant technique.”
Mstislav Rostropovich

Mischa Maisky has the distinction of being the only cellist in the world to have studied with both Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. Rostropovich has lauded Mischa Maisky as "... one of the most outstanding talents of the younger generation of cellists. His playing combines poetry and exquisite delicacy with great temperament and brilliant technique."

Born in Latvia, educated in Russia, after his repatriation to Israel, Mischa Maisky has been enthusiastically received in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York and Tokyo, along with the rest of the major music centers.

He considers himself as a citizen of the world: „I'm playing an Italian cello, with French and German bows, Austrian and German strings, my daughter was born in Paris, my older son in Brussels and my younger one in Italy, I'm driving a Japanese car, wear a Swiss watch, an Indian necklace and I feel at home everywhere where people appreciate and enjoy classical music.“

As an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist during the last 25 years he made well over 30 recordings with such orchestras as Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Orpheus und Chamber Orchestra of Europe and others.

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

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

Truly a world-class musician and regular guest in most major International Festivals he collaborated with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Carlo Maria Giulini, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, James Levine, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Daniel Barenboim and his partnerships have included artists as Martha Argerich, Radu Lupu, Nelson Freire, Peter Serkin, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov, Julian Rachlin and Janine Jansen to name just a few.

1973	Settles in Israel; having won the 1973 Gaspar Cassadó International Cello Competition in Florence, makes his debut at New York's Carnegie Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under William Steinberg; after the concert an anonymous admirer gives him an 18th-century Montagnana cello on which he still performs today
1974	Studies with the legendary Gregor Piatigorsky, thus becoming the only cellist to have studied with both Piatigorsky and Rostropovich
1975	Beginning of his international career, with regular concerts throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and the Far East, especially in Japan
1976	London concerto debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
1977	London recital debut with pianist Radu Lupu
1982	First recording for Deutsche Grammophon: Brahms's Double Concerto with Gidon Kremer and the Wiener Philharmoniker under Leonard Bernstein
1985	Signs his first exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon; records Schumann's Concerto with Bernstein and the Wiener Philharmoniker (released 1986); two important CD Bach releases this year: the Cello (Gamba) Sonatas with Martha Argerich and Maisky's first recording of the Six Solo Suites
1989	CD releases include recordings of Dvořák's Cello Concerto and Bloch's Schelomo with Leonard Bernstein and the Israel Philharmonic (Record Academy Prize, Tokyo 1989)
1992	First appearance at the Proms in London; released on CD this year: Adagio, an anthology of Romantic pieces, with the Orchestre de Paris under Semyon Bychkov
1993	Gives a recital with Martha Argerich, one of his most important musical partners, at the Salzburg Festival
1995	Returns to Moscow for the first time after a 23-year absence to give a concert and to record works by Prokofiev and Miaskovsky for DG with Mikhail Pletnev and the Russian National Orchestra; CD release this year: a coupling of Vivaldi and Boccherini concertos with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (Echo Award 1996)
1997	CD releases include a Tchaikovsky disc with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Songs Without Words by Brahms (with Pavel Gililov)
1998	Appears together with Martha Argerich and Gidon Kremer in Tokyo performing piano trios by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky (recorded live by DG and released in 1999, Echo Award 2000); CD releases: Cellissimo with pianist Daria Hovora, a collection of shorter pieces spanning the centuries from Bach to Bloch; and a Saint-Saëns selection with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Daria Hovora (Echo Award 1999)
1999	CD releases: a French collection entitled Après un rêve (with Daria Hovora), the Brahms Sonatas (with Pavel Gililov) and his second recording of the Bach Suites, which receives wide critical acclaim
2000	Dedicates the year mostly to Johann Sebastian Bach, beginning with a "Bach Marathon" in Zurich, where he plays all of Bach's works for cello (the Solo Suites and Sonatas with harpsichord) in three concerts on a single day, and giving over 100 Bach concerts in Asia, Australia, North and South America, and in most European countries
2001	A recording of Maisky and Argerich Live in Japan (sonatas by Chopin, Franck and Debussy) is released this year
2002	Recitals with Martha Argerich at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center; trio recital with Martha Argerich and Gidon Kremer at Carnegie Hall; duo recital with Sergio Tiempo at the Salzburg Festival. CD release of Mendelssohn's Cello Sonatas with pianist Sergio Tiempo
2003	Appearances include concerts and recitals at the festivals of Verbier, Dubrovnik and Torroella, as well as throughout western and eastern Europe; a tour of the Far East (Dvořák Concerto) followed by a European tour
2004	Appearances in Rome with Chung and the Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and in Paris with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; extensive performances of the Dvořák Concerto, including a tour with the Czech Philharmonic; on tour in Japan with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra; recitals and chamber music appearances in Europe, the USA, Korea, Japan and at the Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein and Salzburg festivals; CD releases: Dvořák and Strauss, with Mehta and the Berliner Philharmoniker (Record Academy Prize, Tokyo, 2003), and chamber music by Brahms and Schumann, with Argerich, Kremer and Bashmet (Record Academy Prize 2003)
2005	Concert appearances throughout Western and Eastern Europe with orchestras including the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic, North German Radio Symphony (NDR) and Kremerata Baltica; benefit concert for Asian tsunami victims in January with Thomas Quasthoff at Vienna's Musikverein; other recitals and chamber music appearances in Europe, Israel and Japan, and at the Lugano, Ludwigsburg, Rheingau, Dubrovnik and Verbier festivals; CD release: live recording of Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Stravinsky with Martha Argerich
2006	Appearances in Europe include concerts with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Dresdner Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Czech Philhar¬monic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Kremerata Baltica; concerts with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and Osaka Century orchestras in Japan. Solo and chamber-music recitals (including Bach's Goldberg Variations and Solo Suites) in Italy, China, South Africa, Israel, and Japan; appearances at festivals including Verbier, Dubrovnik, and Utrecht. Performs "Russian Romances" throughout Europe, accompanied by either Pavel Gililov or Lily Maisky at the piano. CD release: Vocalise – Russian Romances (with Gililov)
2007	Performances include appearances with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic, the Shanghai, Barcelona and Prague Symphony Orchestras (all Dvořák), the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini (Schumann), the Viennese Radio Symphony Orchestra (Hindemith), BBC Philharmonic (R. Strauss) and the English Chamber Orchestra (Tchaikovsky). Chamber-music recitals with Martha Argerich and Renaud Capuçon (Progetto Martha Argerich), Pavel Gililov, Sergio Tiempo, Gidon Kremer (Salzburg Festival), Hélène Grimaud (Verbier Festival), Itamar Golan, Lily Maisky, and Julian Rachlin in Europe and the Far East. Release of Bach's Goldberg Variations (with Julian Rachlin and Nobuko Imai, with whom he also performs the work in concerts throughout Europe). On DVD: Bach's Suites for Solo Cello; a special release of works by Haydn and Schumann, with the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Bernstein, in celebration of Maisky's 60th birthday; Brahms's Violin Concerto with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Bernstein as a single DVD and in the 5-DVD Brahms Cycle box
2008	World premiere of Yusupov's Cello Concerto with the Lucerne Symphony Orches¬tra under Yuri Temirkanov in Lucerne. Concerts with the Czech Philharmonic in Bad Kissingen, the Orchestra del Teatro Verdi in Salerno, the Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra in Munich, the Berne Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle (Brahms's Double Concerto with Rachlin), the Moscow Virtuosi, and the Orchestra del Maggio Musical di Firenze (with Rachlin and Zubin Mehta). Chamber-music performances at the Martha Argerich Beppu Festival in Japan, with Lily Maisky in Elmau, Rome, and Lucerne, with Rachlin and Golan in Gstaad, with Martha Argerich in Spain, Germany and Vienna. Further performances of Bach's Goldberg Variations with Rachlin and Rysanov in Hamburg, Copenhagen, Florence and Bologna. Release of Elégie, a selection of works by Rachmaninov arranged by Maisky and recorded together with pianist Sergio Tiempo