Did you ever have one of those friends who is so incredibly talented, but is only mildly aware of the enormity of that talent? I have one. His name is Alexander Mishnaevski. He has been the principle violist with the Detroit Symphony for years. Sasha, as his friends call him and I am blessed to be able to do so, was born in Russia. His parents 'forced' him to take violin, but before too long he became passionate about the instrument, even before his teen years. Something that rarely happens. His family moved to the United States and Sasha, of course, went to Julliard and eventually switched to the viola. He trained with the best - virtuosos such as Isaac Stern became his mentors. People like Nigel Kennedy and Pinchas Zukerman are his friends. With incredibly diligent hard work Sasha has become one of the great violists of our time. Truly. I've been told by his fellow musicians that he is ranked as one of the very best in the world.
To hear the man play leaves no doubt in your mind that this is so. I've had many good fortunes to hear him. One of his most poignant performances was the Humming Chorus, from the Opera, Madama Butterfly. Sasha played this with the DSO. The emotion coming from Sasha's viola could be felt by everyone in the auditorium. One immediately felt the quiet hope of the young girl waiting for her soldier to return. The song was all the more haunting if you knew her soldier was arriving in the morning only to break the girl's heart. Sasha knew this as he played and all of that heartache was there. I cried as did almost everyone there. As the song came to an end, the lights on the stage went out one by one until only the light over Sasha's music stand was lit. Everyone jumped to their feet and cheered when it was over as only they should have. We had just been privileged to be allowed into the heart and soul of a great virtuoso.
Sasha holds a special place in my heart for many other reasons beside his incredible talent. His fondness for my children is a big one. When my daughter, Miriam, was a young child, Sasha always took time out of his busy schedule and called her on her birthday to wish her well. If he was out of town he played her Happy Birthday on his viola. One time he was practising with Pinchas Zukerman, and on that particular birthday, Miriam heard a beautiful duet.
Miriam was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the children in Iacob Lascu's Nutcracker Ballet. The orchestra was the DSO. What a thrill for a little girl on stage to have such a good friend in the orchestra pit. If she became nervous at all, she just looked at Sasha who would wink at her and smile. You could always tell when this happened because Miriam's face would light up like the Christmas tree that was onstage.
Now that my kids are older, Sasha has taken on another role. He has become a mentor for my son Ben, the pianist. They spend hours together discussing music. Sasha has taken Ben out for lunch numerous times. Naturally, Ben adores him for it.
Tonight my family and I were lucky enough to witness a world premier for Sasha with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. A concert written just for him by Brent Lee, called Rock and Rill. It's a concert for an electronic viola. Once again, I was blown away by the skill and passion this man exudes while playing the viola. What an honour. I only hope he will record it for the rest of the world to hear. Any kind of c/d would be a thrill.
Now, don't get me wrong. The man is not a saint. He does have flaws. Yes, he has rugged good looks that's right up there with the sexy men from Hollywood, and he can be very irritating. But any flaw you think he might possess disappears when you hear him play his viola. There are no flaws there, only perfection.
And he only thinks he's 'okay' at it. Sheesh!