January 2021
Repertoire
A. Dvořák: Cello Concerto, Op. 104
R. Wagner: Siegfried Idyll
Performers
Mischa Maisky, cello
Orquestra Simfònica Camera Musicae
Tomàs Grau, conductor
Programme notes
FIRST EMOTIONAL THEN INTELLECTUAL
From 1892 to 1895 Antonín Dvořák travelled to the United States at the invitation of Jeannette Thurber. The founder of the New York Conservatory thought of him to take over the leadership of the institution. During that stay he wrote one of the best-known cello concertos in the repertoire for this instrument. Dedicated to the soloist Hanuš Wihan, it was finally released by Leo Stern under the baton of the same composer. At that time the reuse of material was frequent: in the second movement you can hear Lass’ mich allein, a lieder that Dvořák himself wrote years before.
On 25th December, 1870, Richard Wagner awoke his wife Cosima with some new music. It was her birthday present, a composition for orchestra called Siegfried’s Idyll.This present was also a way to celebrate the birth of their son Siegfried. The score was published in 1878 and at that time, what Wagner had originally conceived of as family music became music for everyone. As a fine connoisseur of his craft, Wagner also used an army of instruments to introduce new sound techniques, some of which we can find in the final duet of the opera Siegfried.
CONCERT DATES
Mischa Maisky & OCM
Biography Mischa Maisky
Mischa Maisky has the distinction of being the only cellist in the world to have studied with both Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. Rostropovich once 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, and all the other major music centres.
As an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist for more than 30 years he has made well over 35 recordings with such orchestras as Vienna, Israel and Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Orpheus und Chamber Orchestra of Europe and others.
Maisky’s recordings have enjoyed world-wide critical acclaim and have been awarded five times the prestigious Record Academy Prize in Tokyo, three times the Echo Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, the Grand Prix du Disque in Paris and the Diapason d’Or of the Year as well as coveted Grammy nominations.
Truly a world-class musician and regular guest in 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 and Gustavo Dudamel; his partnerships have included such artists 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.