MISHA & CIPA DICHTER
pianists
  • Biography
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John Novacek

Pianists MISHA and CIPA DICHTER, who met at The Juilliard School as students of the legendary Rosina Lhevinne, made their debut joint appearance at the Hollywood Bowl in 1972, four years after their marriage. Subsequently, the Dichters have performed in recital and with major orchestras around the globe.

Misha and Cipa Dichter’s North American engagements have included recitals in all of the major cities in the United States and Canada, as well as appearances with the symphonies of Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Seattle. Abroad, they have been presented in the music capitals of France, Germany, Holland, Spain and Switzerland.

The Dichters are also frequent and popular guest artists at many of the leading summer music festivals, among them Aspen, Caramoor, Hollywood Bowl, the Mann Center (Philadelphia) Mostly Mozart (New York City) and Ravinia. Following one performance at Mostly Mozart, The New York Times declared: “One was struck not only by the synchronism of their musical impulses, but also by the vigor and elegance of the execution.”

Misha and Cipa Dichter’s first recording - a three-CD album of Mozart’s complete piano works for four hands plus four-hand arrangements by Busoni and Grieg - was released by Musical Heritage Society. American Record Guide called the recording an unmitigated delight,” while The Washington Post commented that the music is “witty, melodious and superbly polished. So is the Dichters’ performance.” Gramophone praised “the Dichters’ direct and uncluttered interpretations” as well as their “exuberant rhythmic drive.” Music Web International names the album a “Recording of the Year” for 2005. The Dichters first began playing Mozart together when they were students at Juilliard in the 1960s, and it was a Hollywood Bowl performance of Mozart’s E-flat double concerto that marked their first joint appearance.

Entering the sixth decade of a distinguished international career, Misha Dichter remains one of America’s most popular artists, extending a musical heritage from the Russian Romantic School, as personified by Rosina Lhevinne, his mentor at The Juilliard School, and the German Classical style that was passed on to him by Aube Tzerko, a pupil of Artur Schnabel. Born in Shanghai to parents who had fled Poland at the outbreak of World War II, Misha Dichter and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was two; he began studying the piano at five. At the age of 20, while enrolled at the famed Juilliard School in New York City, he won the Silver Medal at the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, which helped launch an enviable concert career.

Cipa Dichter was born in Brazil of Polish-Russian parents, and had her initial piano lessons at the age of six. She made her professional debut at 16 with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, and came to the United States shortly thereafter to study at The Juilliard School.

Misha and Cipa Dichter reside in New York City, in a household ruled over by Baxter, their amiable Springer Spaniel. They have two sons and five grandchildren. In 2017, the Dichters joined the Advisory Council of New York City’s Musicians Foundation (est. 1914).