Mischa Maisky in Verbier (live)

The Soviet-born Israeli cellist Mischa Maisky has a distinctive, arch-Romantic style that carries forward a Russian tradition of intense expressivity. The only cellist to have studied with the Russian giants Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky, he has himself become an influential teacher. Maisky was born January 10, 1948, in Riga, Latvia, then part of the Soviet Union. The Latvian form of his name was Miša Maiskis. His older brother Valery was an organist and harpsichordist. Maisky took up the cello at eight and entered the Riga Conservatory, but he chafed under the school's rigid curriculum. In 1965, he moved to the larger city of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and he quickly flourished.

On 26 March 2020, the Swedish cultural manager Martin Engstroem announced the cancellation of this year's Verbier Festival.

Supported and guided by Sir Yehudi Menuhin at a young age, Kirill Troussov is now widely recognised as one of the leading violinists of his generation. The international press describes his playing as "…impressive elegance, irreproachable technique, an exceptional musical sensitivity and sonorities of immaculate beauty…". Kirill Troussov is a regular guest at prestigious concert halls and renowned international music festivals, all over the world.