Misha Dichter (born September 27, 1945) is an American pianist.

Biography

Misha Dichter was born in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

to Polish-Jewish parents who fled during WWII. He moved with his family to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, at the age of two and began studying piano at the age of five. He studied with Aube Tzerko, a pupil of

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-born classical pianist, composer and Pedagogy, pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th ...

, who established a concentrated practice regimen and intensive approach to musical analysis. Dichter also studied composition and analysis with Leonard Stein, a disciple of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

. He attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and studied with Rosina Lhévinne. While enrolled at the Juilliard School, Dichter won the Silver medal at the 1966

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, an accomplishment which helped launch his international musical career. Shortly after, he performed Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 at Tanglewood with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, nationally broadcast live on NBC and subsequently recorded for RCA. Dichter made his debut with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1968 performing the same concerto. Appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, the principal London orchestras, and major American orchestras soon followed. Dichter has contributed articles to leading publications including the ''New York Times''. He has been seen frequently on national television, was the subject of an hour-long European television documentary, and was featured with his dog Thunder in the film ''My Dog: An Unconventional Love Story''. Dichter has needed to have multiple surgeries on his hands to allow him to continue playing, due to a condition called Dupuytren's contracture.

Recordings

Misha Dichter's acclaimed recordings for Philips, RCA, MusicMasters, and Koch Classics illustrate the scope of his musical interests. They include the Brahms piano concertos with Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Brahms solo works including the Handel Variations, Beethoven piano sonatas, the complete

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

Hungarian Rhapsodies, the Liszt piano concertos with

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

and the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Gershwin's ''Rhapsody in Blue'' with Neville Marriner and the Philharmonia Orchestra, as well as music of Chopin, Mussorgsky, Schubert, Schumann, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. Many of Dichter's recordings have also been reissued; his recording of Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata and Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 83 with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Kurt Masur, and his recording of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata and Brahms's First Piano Concerto, also with Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra were released on SACD by Pentatone. His recording of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies has been reissued on the Newton label.

Awards

Misha Dichter was honored in 1998 with the "Grand Prix International Du Disque Liszt" for his recording of Liszt's piano transcriptions released on the Phillips label. He was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity on April 13, 1999.

Cipa Glazman Dichter

At Juilliard, he met his future wife, Cipa Glazman. She was born in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

of Polish-

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n parents and had her first piano lessons at the age of six. She made her professional debut at 16 with the Symphony Orchestra of Brazil and came to the United States to study at Juilliard shortly thereafter. Together, Misha and Cipa Dichter are an accomplished piano duo. They have performed throughout North America, Europe, and at summer festivals in the U.S. such as Ravinia, Caramoor, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart, and the Aspen Music Festival. The Dichters have performed many previously neglected two-piano and piano-four-hand works. They recorded Mozart's complete piano works for four hands, which was released in a 3-CD set by Nimbus records. Official website of Mischa and Cipa Dichter
/ref> The Dichters live in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Notes

External links