Misha Quint (born April 27, 1960) is a Russian-born classical

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

Career

Quint was born in Leningrad. He began cello at the age of nine and debuted with his first orchestra at the age of thirteen after winning the Boccherini Competition in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. He then won the International Competition in Prague and the Russian National Competition. His career as a solo cellist blossomed and he performed with renowned Russian Orchestras, such as the Moscow State Symphony, the

Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra The Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (, ''Symphonic Orchestra of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia'') is a symphony orchestra based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Their home venue is the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. History The roots of th ...

, the Leningrad State Orchestra, the Orchestra of Classical and Contemporary Music, and the Symphony Orchestras of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Quint arrived in the United States in 1989. He made his New York debut at the 92nd Street Y and his orchestral debut in

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall at Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designed by Max Abramovitz, was o ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

. He often performs with the

Brooklyn Philharmonic There have been several organisations referred to as the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The most recent one was the now-defunct Brooklyn Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in existence f ...

. Other solo appearances include the Metropolitan Symphony, the New York Chamber Orchestra, National Irish Symphony,

New York Chamber Symphony The New York Chamber Symphony (NYCS) was an American chamber orchestra based in New York City. It was active from 1977 to 2002. It was founded in 1977 by its founding music director Gerard Schwarz, and Omus Hirshbein. Its original name was the Y C ...

and the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra at

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

. Quint has performed under conductors

Maxim Shostakovich Maxim Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (; born 10 May 1938 in Leningrad) is a Soviet, Russian and American conductor and pianist. He is the second child of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich and Nina Varzar. His older sister is Galina Shostakovich. He is ...

, Paul Lustig Dunkel, Colman Pierce,

Sidney Harth Sidney Harth (5 October 1925 in Cleveland – 15 February 2011 in Pittsburgh) was an American violinist and conductor. Education Harth was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music and studied with Joseph Fuchs, ...

, Ravil Martinov, Camilla Kolchinsky, Yakov Bergman, and Ira Levin. Critics describe him as "a master of probing sentiment, shaded phrasing and flawless technique." Daniel Webster of the ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' writes: " isvirtuosity provided a fresh voice" and "the Russian school of string playing has taken on a different light with Quint." Quint's radio broadcasts include appearances on WQXR's ''In the Listening Room'' and live recitals on WGBH (Boston), WMNB (NJ), WNYC (NY). Quint has performed and premiered new pieces by famous contemporary composers such as

Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer. Among the most performed and recorded composers of late 20th-century classical music, he is described by musicologist Ivan Moody as a "composer who was conc ...

, Basner and Gubaidulina. He was the 2009 winner of the CRS Competition for Contemporary Music, and won three gold medals for Artist, New Release, and Album in the 2016 Global Music Awards. MishaQuintrecent

Pedagogue

He is

, founder, and teacher at the

InterHarmony International Music Festival The InterHarmony International Music Festival is a summer Music Festival in Germany and Italy. The Festival is an annual intensive summer performance festival, which includes a concert series of international solo musicians and young performers, ...

in Italy and Germany. He has been on the faculty of the International Institute of Music in Marktoberdorf, Germany, and was the music director and founder of the International Cello Festival in Blonay and Interharmony Music Festival in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Ca ...

. He has given numerous concerts and master classes in England, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and the United States. Currently, Quint is faculty member of the

Mannes College of Music The Mannes School of Music (), originally called the David Mannes Music School and later the Mannes Music School, Mannes College of Music, the Chatham Square Music School, and Mannes College: The New School for Music, is a Music school, music con ...

Preparatory Division in New York City. Quint_lg

InterHarmony International Music Festival

Quint is the founder and music director of the

. The festival is held in

Acqui Terme Acqui Terme (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'Acqui. The c ...

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and

Sulzbach-Rosenberg Sulzbach-Rosenberg () is a municipality in the Amberg-Sulzbach district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated approximately 14 km northwest of Amberg, and 50 km east of Nuremberg. The town consists of two parts: Sulzbach in the west, and ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and 2020 will be the 15th year of the festival in Sulzbach-Rosenberg and the 4th year in Acqui Terme. InterHarmony was formerly in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

;

Hinterzarten Hinterzarten is a resort village in the Black Forest (German: ''Schwarzwald''), located in the southwest of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Although Hinterzarten is mostly famous for its ski jumping, it has many other tourist attractions. ...

;

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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 ...

; and

The Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. These are intensive performance festivals, which include public performances and master classes. InterHarmony has programs in orchestral instruments (including strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion), piano, and voice. In 2014, InterHarmony opened an opera program with orchestra in its location in Sulzbach-Rosenberg. The InterHarmony International Music Festival has gained renown in Germany and the U.S. Consulate General spoke at the final concert where Quint performed in 2008. Quint performed with Caitlin Hulcup,

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

from the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

, and

Christa Mayer Christa Mayer is a German operatic mezzo-soprano. She is particularly known for her portrayal of Erda in Richard Wagner's ''Ring Cycle''; a role which she has performed several times at the Bayreuth Festival and recorded on the BBC Legends Record ...

, mezzo-soprano from the

Bayreuther Festspiele The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...

in 2010. In 2015, Quint and InterHarmony International Music Festival started the Outstanding Guest Artist Series, where famous musicians are invited to perform and give a master class to the young artists at InterHarmony. The most recent artists to be invited were violinist

Vadim Repin Vadim Viktorovich Repin (, ; born 31 August 1971) is a Russian and Belgian violinist who lives in Vienna.A ...

, violinist

Nikolaj Znaider Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (born 5 July 1975 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish violinist and conductor. Biography Szeps-Znaider was born in Copenhagen to Polish-Jewish parents. His father had originally emigrated from Poland to Israel, and his mo ...

, pianist

Bruno Canino Bruno Canino (born 30 December 1935) is an Italian classical pianist, harpsichordist and composer. Early life Bruno Canino was born in Naples, Italy in 1935, where he studied piano with Vincenzo Vitale. He continued his musical education in ...

, pianist

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel (born 5 January 1931) is a Czech-born Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is noted for his performances of Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven. Biography Brendel was born in Wizemberk, Czechoslovakia ...

for a lecture.

References

External links

*
Misha Quint
on YouTube
InterHarmony International Music FestivalInterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, ItalyInterHarmony International Music Festival in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quint, Misha Russian cellists Living people American classical cellists American contemporary classical music performers Jewish classical musicians American child classical musicians American people of Russian descent Russian classical cellists Russian music educators 1960 births