Cellist celestial

The music of Mstislav Rostropovich has cast a spell these days on many instrumentalists around the world.

But very few string players approach its exquisite delicacy with a great temperament as deeply as Russian cellist Mischa Maisky. When he plays the cello, emotions well up in our soul.

Maisky's unbounded virtuosity, along with his unique sense of timing, colour and poetry is replete with spirit and expressive musicality.

Often called a modern-day Rostropovich with his flawless ability and his renditions of notoriously difficult arrangements of pieces, he has been naturally and rapidly propelled into the pantheon of the world's most important cellists.

As an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artiste for 25 years, Maisky has made over 30 recordings with orchestra and his collaboration with world-class musicians and conductors added more mileage to his career.

This weekend, Maisky is in the capital to perform at the Abu Dhabi Classics.

Weekend Review got in touch with Maisky to talk about his passion for the cello and his association with Rostropovich.

As you made your way through high school and college what were your expectations about your career?

I wanted to be a musician. I started playing the cello at 8. But the only difficulty we faced was living and growing in the Soviet Union period.

It was difficult to have any expectations during that time, as we were not allowed to travel abroad or express our thoughts. My parents were not musicians, although they loved music.

They passed on that interest to their three children. My elder sister is a pianist and my brother is a musicologist and harpsichord player.

You were younger than the musicians you admired — Rostropovich and Piatigorsky. How did you come into contact with them?

Rostropovich was my idol. On every possible occasion I used to attend his concerts and master classes. I used to collect his pictures, records and other paraphernalia.

I met Rostropovich after my father's death, when I returned to St Petersburg from the funeral to prepare for the 1966 All Soviet Union Competition.

He taught master classes in St Petersburg. He knew me well, as the honour of winning the All Russia Competition was still in the air.

He encouraged me to participate wholeheartedly. I stood third. When I participated at the Tchaikovsky music competition, Rostropovich and Piatigorsky were jury members there.

Of five Soviet cellists, I was the only participant who wasn't a student of Rostropovich. Impressed by my playing, he invited me to attend classes at the Moscow Conservatory in 1966.

Piatigorsky was a legendary figure; not only in the Soviet Union but also all around the world. I met him at the competition and, much later, we travelled to Los Angeles to learn more about cello playing.

Did you know Rostropovich personally? We heard that he was more than a teacher to you.

For me, both were not only great cellists but also great teachers. The teaching methods of Rostropovich and Piatigorsky were very similar.

Rostropovich was indeed my second father. He gave me love and encouragement. He had two daughters.

He desired a son as he wanted to carry on the tradition of cello playing that started with his father who was also a cellist, conductor and composer.

I met Piatigorsky in my new life in Palestine. I played for Zubin Mehta, who was very friendly with Piatigorsky.

Piatigorsky had remarkable advice for me, which he imparted in a very down-to-earth way. It is more than 30 years since I lost him. Nevertheless, I feel him all the time.

Could you describe your cello setup now?

What I studied with Rostropovich and Piatigorsky was to be myself. The most important quality of a great artiste is that he loves what he plays and for whom he plays. I like improvisation.

Being nicknamed as the ‘Rostropovich of the Future', do you feel a sense of mission, a responsibility to carry the torch forward?

Rostropovich's name is unique. And it will remain. I don't think there is any need to carry the torch forward. But I want to impart what I learnt from Rostropovich to others.

The more difficult and repressed life is, the more we have a need for music. Did music matter more in the Soviet period?

In today's Russia, internet, television and radio matter most. But during the Soviet period, art and literature was of utmost interest to people, as they found it to be the right medium to express themselves.

There were plenty of difficulties. You couldn't travel abroad. It was basically a solitarian society. We didn't have any freedom.

I can say that it was a kind of advantage for me, as I got an opportunity to study with Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory.

Layla Haroon is freelance writer based in Abu Dhabi.

Mischa Maisky will treat the audience to an evening of poignant cello sonatas, accompanied by the pianist and teacher Pavel Gililov on February 7 at the Emirates Palace Auditorium.

The auditorium will resound to the haunting strains of Beethoven, Brahms and Rachmaninoff with an evening of chamber music celebrating the romantic cello.