Cello Masterworks: Playing Strauss' Epic 'Don Quixote'
Richard Strauss' heroic epic 'Don Quixote' is the cellist's most noble challenge
Mischa Maisky laughs when asked for advice on how to prepare to play Richard Strauss' Don Quixote with an orchestra for the first time. "First of all," the famed Latvian cellist says, "I would like to congratulate any young cellist in that position." As he speaks, I can sense he is wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. The truth, he adds, is that it's either performed by the first cellist in the orchestra, or by an already famous cellist. "Anyone who has the chance is lucky," Maisky sighs.
In Maisky's opinion, and in the opinion of many of his peers, Don Quixote is not only one of the most incredible pieces in the repertoire. It is a great pleasure for both the performers and the audience, and a profoundly personal piece for the performer. Cellists can't help but identify with its unique combination of dramatic narrative and emotional content. "That was Rostropovich's opinion," Maisky says, "and confirmed to me by Piatigorsky."
The extraordinary thing, he adds, is that most great cellists, "in moments of temporary insecurity, will admit that there is some other cellist who can play Saint-Saëns, Schumann, or Dvo?ák better, but they will all say that Don Quixote is theirs alone. I'm sure that's how Rostropovich and Piatigorsky felt, and that's how I feel, too."
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