Thirty years ago it looked as if cellist Mischa Maisky was set to become one of the Soviet Union's prize musicians. Born in 1948 in Riga, the capital of the then Soviet satellite-state of Latvia, Maisky was a grade-A student at the Riga Conservatory at the age of 17. In 1965 he moved to Leningrad, where more accolades awaited the young cellist.
Winning the Soviet Union's national cello competition and enjoying a highly acclaimed debut with the Leningrad Philharmonic that same year, Maisky was slowly, but surely gaining a reputation as one of the nation's most talented young cellists. Misfortune, however, was lurking just around the corner.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PARIS INTERNATIONAL
Moving to Moscow in the late 1960s in order to study at the Moscow Conservatory under the guidance of renowned cellist, Mstislav Rostropovich, Maisky's life took to a drastic turn for the worse after his sister left the Soviet Union for Israel.
He was targeted as a troublemaker and harassed by the state security police. Security forces finally arrested Maisky in 1970 for buying a tape recorder on the black market. He was sentenced to 18 months in a labor camp and denied the chance to graduate from the prestigious institute.
"Things changed rather drastically and for the last three years of `my first life,' as I like to call it, I didn't even see my cello, let alone play it," recalls Maisky. Two years in a Soviet labor camp didn't dampen Maisky's passion for the cello, however.
After completing his sentence in mid-1972, he attempted to re-enter the institute and finish the final year he missed due his incarceration.
Of a total of 65 examinations needed to graduate from the Moscow Conservatory, Maisky had completed 63. The two remaining tests were cello playing and a very euphonious sounding examination entitled "scientific communism."
"I contacted them after release in `72, but it was impossible for me to return to my studies in Russia," said Maisky. "I don't regret the things that happened to me because even though I never received a diploma from Moscow Conservatory I think I had a much more complete life education."
Maisky's "second life" began at the end of 1972. Now living in Israel, his sister petitioned Teddy Kollek, the mayor of Jerusalem at the time, to pressure Soviet authorities to allow Maisky to join the family in the Jewish state.
In order to leave the USSR, Maisky needed a sponsor, who was expected to compensate the state for his education. The amount of cash paid for Maisky's release was, as he puts it, "substantial." It was forthcoming, however, and by 1973 the young cellist was once again performing in front of audiences.
Making his US debut in 1973 at the Carneige Hall with the Pittsburgh Philharmonic under the baton of conductor William Steinberg, Maisky was chosen by Russia's other great cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky -- who was living in Los Angeles -- to be his student. This made Maisky the only cellist to study under both Rostropovich and Piatigorsky.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Maisky continued to win both competitions and acclaim around the world. Performing to packed houses in Europe the US and Asia, and especially Japan where the artist still enjoys a strong following today, Maisky soon became one of the worlds' most in-demand cellists.
In 1995, Maisky returned to Russia for the first time since his departure in 1972. While initially feeling apprehensive about returning to the land where he was once incarcerated, his return proved favorable for both the cellist and post-Soviet audiences.
"I must confess it was not just like going anywhere else. It was different. I never felt any particular sentiments or nostalgia, God forbid, but I still remember growing up there," explains the cellist. "I had mixed feelings about the people but the audiences were very appreciative and I enjoyed playing there."
There he not only performed with the Russian National Orchestra but was also asked by the prestigious classical label, Deutsche Grammophon, to record a series of works by renowned Russian composers Sergei Prokofiev and Nikolai Miaskovsky. Maisky has recorded over 35 solo and collaborative albums for the Deutsche label to date, and is planning many more.
"I don't think I can yet point to one record as my favorite. I like to think that my next one will be, but I'm still growing and will continue to release albums until I have a favorite one," continues Maisky. "Which could take sometime."
While now based in Belgium, Maisky continues to travel extensively and perform both solo and with national orchestras. While orchestral performances are now part-and-parcel of his career, Maisky finds it rather restricting and prefers to perform with a more intimate number of performers.
"I don't really get on with orchestras. I find playing with a large group restricts me and doesn't allow me to create the sound I want," concludes Maisky.
For his upcoming shows in Kaohsiung and Taipei, local audiences will be treated to a, thankfully, unrestricted performance by Maisky. Joined on stage by Argentinean pianist Sergio Tiempo, the duo will be performing Mendelssohn's Sonata No.2 in D major, Shostakovich's Sonata in D minor and Chopin's Sonata in G minor.
From censoring “poisonous books” to banning “poisonous languages,” the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) tried hard to stamp out anything that might conflict with its agenda during its almost 40 years of martial law. To mark 228 Peace Memorial Day, which commemorates the anti-government uprising in 1947, which was violently suppressed, I visited two exhibitions detailing censorship in Taiwan: “Silenced Pages” (禁書時代) at the National 228 Memorial Museum and “Mandarin Monopoly?!” (請說國語) at the National Human Rights Museum. In both cases, the authorities framed their targets as “evils that would threaten social mores, national stability and their anti-communist cause, justifying their actions
There is a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plot to put millions at the mercy of the CCP using just released AI technology. This isn’t being overly dramatic. The speed at which AI is improving is exponential as AI improves itself, and we are unprepared for this because we have never experienced anything like this before. For example, a few months ago music videos made on home computers began appearing with AI-generated people and scenes in them that were pretty impressive, but the people would sprout extra arms and fingers, food would inexplicably fly off plates into mouths and text on
On the final approach to Lanshan Workstation (嵐山工作站), logging trains crossed one last gully over a dramatic double bridge, taking the left line to enter the locomotive shed or the right line to continue straight through, heading deeper into the Central Mountains. Today, hikers have to scramble down a steep slope into this gully and pass underneath the rails, still hanging eerily in the air even after the bridge’s supports collapsed long ago. It is the final — but not the most dangerous — challenge of a tough two-day hike in. Back when logging was still underway, it was a quick,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) and some in the deep blue camp seem determined to ensure many of the recall campaigns against their lawmakers succeed. Widely known as the “King of Hualien,” Fu also appears to have become the king of the KMT. In theory, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) outranks him, but Han is supposed to be even-handed in negotiations between party caucuses — the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) says he is not — and Fu has been outright ignoring Han. Party Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) isn’t taking the lead on anything while Fu
RSS