MAESTRO'S MUSICAL FAMILY

Photo Album
The Family of Mischa and Maria (Drobatschewsky) Borisoff
 

Photo Gallery
150 Family Photos

Slide Show Presentation
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Biographies...
 

Maria (Manya) Drobatschewsky Borisoff - My Grandmother

Child Prodigy, Madame Borisoff taught many LA area pianists.

Maria Drobatschewsky Borisoff's Obituary, February 27, 1989

Maria Borisoff was born in Odessa Russia 86 years ago, the youngest of 5 children. The entire family was totally immersed in music and at the ripe old age of 8, Manya, as she was affectionately called, was whisked away to Berlin by Uncle Fiedemann, who maintained that she was a budding child prodigy and that this talent needed to be cultivated in an atmosphere more appropriate than Czarist Russia.

The Berlin of 1910 was teeming with culture and music. Into this milieu came this child, ready to study and work toward the goal of concert pianist. To make ends meet, she donned high heels to look much older, so that she could take on students who were just a few years younger than she was. It wasn't too long before she took to the concert stage and received glowing notices.

In 1923 she married Mischa Borisoff and two years later gave birth to their son, Boris, the light of their lives.

With the establishment of the Hitler regime in 1933, an early incident awakened them to the need for leaving the country. First plans were to emigrate to Palestine but, on the urging of Uncle Sasha, successfully established in Los Angeles, they decided to come to America, arriving in 1934.

For the second time in her life she was uprooted and thrust into a different culture. Here she was, no language but that of music, trying to find herself and help provide for the family in the midst of the U.S. side of the great depression. She did it all, raised a wonderful, bright child, gave music lessons and recitals, and established herself in the musical world of L. A. She loved the excitement, the rush and the challenges of a busy working life.

Unfortunately, 'Bob' was not imbued with his parents' great interest in music, but instead preferred to tinker with motors and old watches. After several failed attempts at the piano and the violin, Manya gave up on a musical career for Bob.

With the coming of World War II and the holocaust, she tried valiantly to bring her brother and his family to the U. S. with partial success. Her beloved brother, Heinrich, and all of her remaining family in Russia were lost.

1948 saw Bob's marriage to Edith and the subsequent birth of the twins, Stephen and Paul. All her energies went into the care and nurturing of her beloved twins. All this time she harbored the not-so-secret dream that they should take up the musical mantle of her interrupted career. This task took on the manner of a crusade when she purchased their first piano on the occasion of their fifth birthday.

Before long she had two more "victims" in the persons of David and Susan. There was the fun of staying at Grandma Manya's house for the weekend and getting all of her personal attention including a music lesson. Trips to Desert Hot Springs were also part of life with Grandma with all of the hustle and bustle of packing up and getting on the road before the traffic began. But behind all of this was her first and foremost goal: that of the children's musical education. One would have to say that she succeeded. Every one of the children is in some measure connected to music and finds it an integral part of his life.

Mischa passed away in 1964 and with him went a great deal of the meaning of her life. The children grew up and, as children will, they grew away. They all married and had children of their own and shared their joy with their Grandma Manya.

Age and infirmity took its toll and Manya was no longer able to fend for herself, so she resorted to living in a retirement hotel. When that was no longer feasible, she moved to Petit House and was cared for tirelessly by their caring staff. Her latest accident made hospitalization necessary and with that - her passing on February 27.

Those powerfully talented fingers, once acclaimed throughout Europe, are stilled, but ...the melody lingers on.

Heinrich Drobatschewsky - My Great Uncle - Maria's Brother

A Brilliant Violinist whose life was cut short in a German Concentration Camp.

Uncle Heinrich (far right)   Member of the Fiedemann Quartet

Dimitri Drobatschewsky

During World War II, Heinrich's son, Dimitri, joined the Vichy Foreign Legion.  He served until the spring of 1942, then he deserted and rejoined De Gaulle's Free French Forces in Libya. That army also had a brigade of Foreign Legionnaires, so he remained a legionnaire. With the Free French Forces, he fought the Nazis not only in France, but also in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Italy and finally, France and Germany. After immigrating to the United States, he became a music critic for a Arizona Republic.  Once, when asked what credentials supported his being a music critic, he responded, "In order to be a music critic, your last name must be very long!" Despite the hardship and loss of the war years, Dimitri is blessed with a wonderful sense of humor and passion for life and the arts. 
 

Grandpa Mischa (top center) - Conducting the back row?

Mischa Borisoff (2nd from the left) - My Grandfather

Boris Fuchs Borisoff - Mischa Borisoff's Father

Alexander Borisoff     Nickname:  Sasha

Alexander Borisoff was born in Odessa, Russia. He attended the Russian Conservatory of Music where he majored in Composition and Cello. He graduated with a Doctorate in Music and performed as a concert cellist in a series of highly successful appearances throughout Europe before coming to America. While touring the United States, Alexander was invited by Dr. Otto Klemperer to join the Los Angeles Philharmonic as their first cellist. During his tenure with the Philharmonic, Alexander introduced his Cello Concerto and his Poeme Ancient for Cello, Narrator, Chorus & Orchestra. Alexander was commissioned by NBC to compose a tone poem for Symphony Orchestra based upon the theme America which was played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic over a coast-to-coast broadcast and subsequently performed by major symphony orchestras throughout the United States. In 1971, Alexander's String Quartet was recorded by the American Chamber Virtuosi and in 1975 his Impressions of Hawaii was commissioned and performed by the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. He wrote scores for many Hollywood motion pictures and television programs and has also made musical arrangements for well-known vocalists and recording groups. He also wrote books on musical composition. Alexander sadly passed away in the early 1980s.

David Alan Miller Conductor - My Cousin

David Alan Miller has established a reputation as one of the leading American conductors of his generation. Frequently in demand as a guest conductor, he has worked with most of America’s major orchestras, developing especially close relationships with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony. He has also conducted the orchestras of Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Baltimore, Houston, Milwaukee and Indianapolis, as well as the New World Symphony and the New York City Ballet.

As Music Director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 1992, Mr. Miller has proven himself a creative and compelling orchestra builder. Through exploration of unusual repertoire, educational programming, community outreach and recording initiatives, he has reaffirmed the Albany Symphony’s reputation as the nation’s leading champion of American symphonic music and one of its most innovative orchestras. Recent honors include Columbia University’s 2003 Ditson Conductor’s Award, the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to American music. Additionally, Mr. Miller has received the 2001 ASCAP Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming and, in 1999, ASCAP’s first-ever Leonard Bernstein Award for Outstanding Educational Programming.

In September, 2006, Mr. Miller opened the Chicago Symphony subscription season and the Chicago World Music Festival with four highly acclaimed concerts. During the 2006-7 season, he returns to the Minnesota Orchestra for his eighth season as conductor, creator and host of its "Casual Classics" series. Recent highlights included appearances with the Baltimore, Houston and Milwaukee Symphonies, the Minnesota and Louisville Orchestras, the Grand Teton Music Festival and his third visit to the Estoril Festival, Portugal's leading arts festival. He recently traveled to Australia to lead performances of John Adams oratorio, “El Niño,” at the Sydney Opera House.

Internationally, Mr. Miller made his debut with the RAI Orchestra in Turin, Italy, in the 1999-2000 season. He has also conducted major European orchestras in Berlin, Barcelona, Prague, Dresden, Hanover, Halle and Mainz. He has appeared with the Adelaide Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Singapore Symphony; led the Australian Youth Orchestra on its European tour; and conducted the Asian Youth Orchestra on a major tour of the Far East that included concerts in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. In Canada, he has conducted the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa and the Edmonton Symphony.

Mr. Miller is highly regarded as a champion and interpreter of American music, new and old. His extensive discography includes recordings of the works of Todd Levin with the London Symphony Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon, as well as music by Michael Daugherty, Kamran Ince, and Michael Torke for London/Decca. His recordings with the Albany Symphony include discs of music by John Harbison, Roy Harris, Morton Gould, Don Gillis, Vincent Persichetti, George Lloyd and Peter Mennin, all on the Albany Records label. He also led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in its recording of Mel Powell’s music, including “Duplicates: Concerto for Two Pianos,” winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Mr. Miller's most recent CD release is the world premiere recording of Michael Torke's opera, Strawberry Fields, on the Ecstatic Records label. He is currently completing a disc of major works by Greek-American George Tsontakis with the Albany Symphony for Koch. Mr. Miller is the founder and Artistic Director of New Paths in Music, a festival in New York City dedicated to presenting the works of significant non-American composers who are not yet well-known in the U.S.

Prior to his appointment in Albany, Mr. Miller was Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. During his five-year tenure there, he conducted subscription concerts, special programs at the Hollywood Bowl, and Symphonies for Youth concerts, and he led the orchestra in premieres of numerous works. From 1982 to 1988, he was Music Director of the New York Youth Symphony, earning considerable acclaim for his work with that ensemble. A native of Los Angeles, David Alan Miller holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School. Mr. Miller lives with his wife and three children in Slingerlands, New York.