Mischa Maisky | A Man and his Cello

A film by Beatrix Conrad & Lily Küntzle, 52 min, NDR/ARTE 2024

“After 50 years on stage, there are still many challenges, dreams, and ambitions for the next 50 years,” Mischa Maisky says with a twinkle in his eye. The 75-year-old star cellist, together with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under the baton of Paavo Järvi, demonstrates that he can still play like a “hot-blooded youngster” (Hamburger Abendblatt).

“My most important life motto: Perfection is the enemy of good.” For Mischa Maisky, the cello is not a means to demonstrate technical skill. For him, it’s not about perfection, but rather about conveying emotions to his audience as unfiltered as possible in the moment of interpretation. This emotional connection with the audience is intensely felt in the concert in Kiel with his long-time friend, the pianist Martha Argerich, and the violinist Janine Jansen. And even though Mischa Maisky still has many wishes and dreams for the future, he has already fulfilled one heart’s desire: he goes on concert tours as a family trio together with his children Sascha (violin) and Lily (piano).

Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations allow the cellist to indulge his virtuosity to the fullest. With Tchaikovsky’s “Nocturne” and the cello adaptation of the Lensky aria “Kuda, Kuda,” Maisky demonstrates his romantic, expressive playing without slipping into kitsch. Max Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei” awakens memories of his origins. Maisky grew up in a Jewish family with Ukrainian roots in the former Soviet Union, began playing the cello at the age of 8, and received his education from two of the greatest masters of the cello: Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. Through several disruptions in his life – his father died when he was 18, his sister emigrated shortly after, and he himself spent 2 years in a labor camp – Maisky developed a special sensitivity that can be heard in his playing. He sees his unusual life story as an important education and is grateful for this “comprehensive life experience.”