Mischa Maisky

Soviet-born cellist Mischa Maisky comes from a musical family - he is the younger brother of the well known harpsichordist and musicologist Valery Maisky who sadly died in 1981. Maisky entered the Moscow Conservatory in the late 1960s and was mentored by the great cellist Rostropovich. After a promising start a series of circumstances occurred which threatened the future career of the gifted young musician. His sister left the Soviet Union to live in Israel and the Soviet authorities subsequently arrested Maisky and incarcerated him in a labour camp. After spending 18 months in the camp he faked a psychiatric disorder to avoid military service and eventually fled to Israel in 1972. Just over a year later he made his debut at Carnegie Hall and since then has gone on to become one of the world's most respected cellists.

Maisky has an extraordinarily busy schedule of live performances, including playing over 400 concerts in Japan on 46 separate tours and he remains one of the most in-demand concert musicians in the field. The talented cellist has an extensive back catalogue of recorded performances some of the most notable being his recitals of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach.