## Two Geniuses at One Desk Misha Maisky was born on January 10, 1948, in Riga and is considered one of the most recognized and leading musicians of our time. He entered the history of music as the only cellist in the world who studied under two legendary masters of the 20th century - Mstislav Rostropovich and Grigory Piatigorsky. Maisky began his creative journey by learning to play the cello at the age of 8 at the Emil Darzin Music School in Riga. At school, Misha Maisky sat at the same desk as another Misha - the future ballet genius Mikhail Baryshnikov, who is only 17 days younger than his friend! By the way, according to the portal bb.lv, this autumn the great Baryshnikov is expected to visit his native Riga again to open his nearly completed arts center on Blaumana Street, 19. ## Building Communism Did Not Work Out As for Maisky, at the age of fourteen, he left Latvia and continued his studies in Leningrad, and after winning the All-Union Performing Arts Competition, he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory in Rostropovich's class. In 1966, the musician became a laureate of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. The musician's fate in the USSR was dramatic. It is worthy of novels and adaptations! After his sister emigrated to Israel, Maisky faced persecution from the Soviet authorities. In 1970, he was convicted on a fabricated charge of speculation (for buying a tape recorder at a "Beryozka" store) and sent to forced labor. After spending more than a year in the Gorky region, he was able to repatriate to Israel in 1972. Misha recalls this with bitter irony: "You see, I spent almost a year and a half loading cement and trying to build communism, but nothing worked out!". ## Skyscrapers are Skyscrapers, but I’m Small After emigrating, Maisky's career took off rapidly: in 1973, he successfully performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. That same year, he won first prize at the prestigious cello competition in Florence. For many years, he has had an exclusive contract with the prestigious label Deutsche Grammophon, recording more than thirty albums with the world's best orchestras. For over 45 years, the musician has played on an antique cello made by the Italian master Domenico Montagnana (early 18th century). "For me, it is a great joy to return to my hometown, even if only occasionally," said the great musician to the bb.lv portal. "After all, it is a wonderful opportunity to show my children the city where I grew up on Revolution Street (now Matisa), to visit the graves of my relatives, as my dear father is buried here. And finally, I have long wanted to show my son and daughter as musicians in our Maisky Trio - I think they are quite interesting!". ## The Main Dream The musicians have been performing together professionally since 2006, touring across different continents. Misha Maisky calls the creation of this trio the main dream of his life. Lilya Maiskaya, who accompanied her father on the piano, was born in 1987 in Paris. She started learning to play the piano at the age of four and received her musical education in Belgium. She actively tours worldwide, performing at prestigious European and international festivals (such as the Verbier Festival) and at major concert venues. Meanwhile, Sasha Maisky is now a well-known Belgian violinist. He was born in 1989 in Brussels and performs worldwide both as a soloist and as part of the family ensemble Maisky Trio. ## Let’s Be Friends as Families The Artissimo Festival, now in its fourteenth edition, is organized by the head of the concert agency "German Brown Foundation," pianist, and officer of the Order of the Three Stars, Inna Davydova. She has brought the magnificent Maisky to Jurmala about five times, but this is the first time she has organized a visit for Misha with his musician children. "It is delightful that the Maiskys performed works by Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. Such a family trio not only of performers but also of composers! We know that Clara was Schumann's wife and that Brahms was in love with her all his life. It is known that at one point she destroyed letters from Brahms, so we do not know much. But what is clear is that these were genuine feelings, and the music of all three in this concert was performed by the three Maiskys! Wonderful!".
