About this Book

Mischa Mischakoff, widely considered the world's finest concertmaster in the mid-twentieth century and called "Toscanini's third hand" by critics and conductors, enjoyed a seven-decade career in the first chair. The book highlights the personal traits and experiences that made Mischakoff so outstanding as a concertmaster and that sustained him through revolutions, war, and the politics of the world of music. The memoir is enlivened by the recollections of his family and students and some hundred photographs of Mischakoff and the conductors and musicians with whom he worked. An accompanying CD features excerpts of Mischakoff's playing in his divergent roles as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, and concertmaster.