Han-Na Chang's mentor Mischa Maisky: 'Whatever she does, she'll give 110%'

Cellist Mischa Maisky visits Seoul for Classical Bridge International Music Festival, running Thursday through June 12 with 21 artists

Cellist Mischa Maisky [Classical Bridge International Music Festival]

"Whatever she does, she gives 110 percent. I'm sure she'll handle this new challenge just as well."

The relationship between teacher and student, conductor and performer, has now shifted again — this time to arts institution head and musician. World-renowned cellist Mischa Maisky visited Korea and spoke warmly about his former pupil Han-Na Chang, who was recently appointed the 18th president of Seoul Arts Center.

Their connection dates back to 1992. Maisky first saw a video of nine-year-old Chang playing the cello and invited her to his master class — a moment that set their celebrated teacher-student relationship in motion. It began with a chance encounter: Chang's father handed Maisky a tape of his daughter's playing at a book-signing event, and that single moment gave rise to one of the most storied mentorships in Korean classical music history.

Maisky, who came to Korea to attend the Classical Bridge International Music Festival, called Chang "a truly gifted performer and an extraordinarily versatile person."

He was well aware that his former student had taken the helm of Seoul Arts Center — one of Korea's foremost arts institutions and the venue hosting this year's festival. "I think it will be a far more complex role than the music she has pursued until now," Maisky said. "Still, I believe she will do it beautifully, and I want to send her my support."

He also expressed a personal hope: "At the same time, I do hope she continues her musical activities. She is a wonderful performer."

Chang burst onto the international scene in 1994 when, at 12, she became the youngest winner of the Rostropovich International Cello Competition. She later transitioned from cellist to conductor. When Maisky visited Korea in 2023, he shared a stage with Chang as conductor — their first collaboration in 11 years. Speaking to reporters at the time, he said the impression Chang made on him when he first heard her play remained vivid even after three decades. "It made me believe in reincarnation," he said. "In that little girl I felt an intensity that defied all explanation."

On Wednesday, Maisky returned to the same sentiment. "Conductor Han-Na Chang and cellist Mischa Maisky can certainly share a stage together," he said, "but she is such a magnificent cellist — I really hope audiences get to hear her play the cello again as well."

Maisky's visit to Korea was prompted by the Classical Bridge International Music Festival. "I think it's been about 40 years since I first came to Korea," he said. "Every time I come, I look forward to it so much — and I always look forward to the next visit even more."

The Classical Bridge International Music Festival is a project led by pianist Clara Min, who serves as artistic director and oversees programming, artist selection and performance. Now in its sixth edition, the festival launched in New York in 2018 and has since traveled to Bordeaux, Seoul and Paris. Its name — "Bridge" — encapsulates everything the festival stands for.

"We chose the name 'Bridge' because the festival is about connection — between generations, between different cultures, between business and music," Min said. "And of course, the connection between artists themselves is what we consider most important."

Artistic director Clara Min [Classical Bridge International Music Festival]

This year's Classical Bridge International Music Festival brings together 21 artists from around the world for seven concerts across Seoul Arts Center, Lotte Concert Hall and Goyang Aram Nuri. The festival opens Thursday with a cello recital by Mischa Maisky at Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, followed by chamber concerts featuring Augustin Dumay, Edgar Moreau, Alissa Margulis and Clara Min at Seoul Arts Center on Friday and Saturday. A piano recital by David Chen and Luca Sishi takes place June 10 at Seoul Arts Center. The festival closes June 11 and 12 with Mikhail Pletnev and the Rachmaninoff International Orchestra at Lotte Concert Hall and Seoul Arts Center. Violinist Daniel Lozakovich appears as soloist on June 11 and 12, with cellist Gautier Capuçon joining on June 12.

On the criteria for selecting artists, Min said technical excellence is paramount — but openness and sincerity matter just as much. "Chamber music requires you to truly listen to one another, and that's impossible if you come in with preconceptions," she said. "In music, we are all children." For that reason, she described her fellow musicians not as business associates but as "friends and, in the broadest sense, family."

Generational connection is another pillar of the festival. Maisky will perform in a trio alongside his son and daughter. Violist Lida Chen's 18-year-old son will also take the Korean stage for the first time during the Seoul performances — he is the son of Argentine piano legend Martha Argerich.

Violist Lida Chen [Classical Bridge International Music Festival]

"Young performers deserve special respect in our society — they need to be given their own space," Maisky said. "They are, after all, the ones who will carry classical music forward." He added that while his appearance might suggest otherwise, he still feels young at heart. "The advice I always give young musicians is: stay young. My life's dream is to live long and die young."

The festival operates on a distinctive format, moving between cities around the world. "Physical location no longer matters," Min said. "The entire world is connected through digital technology and AI, and in an age where we receive news from the other side of the globe simultaneously, the world is one unified platform."

She outlined a concrete road map for growing Classical Bridge into what she called the world's most meaningful summer festival: starting next year, the main festival will be held in Cannes, France, while a series of mini-festivals will tour Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, New York, San Francisco and Riyadh during the regular season running from September through June.

Classical Bridge also aspires to be more than a performance festival — it aims to become a cultural platform. "What audiences hear in the concert hall is extraordinarily refined music, but what they see is two-dimensional," Min said. "We are developing ways to make what is heard more visually and simultaneously comprehensible." She added that the festival is currently in discussions with Apple on a project integrating AI technology.

The way music is presented may evolve, but its essence does not. "Music itself does not change," Min said. "It has accompanied us for centuries because it carries its own inherent truth. Finding better ways to communicate that truth — that is our duty as performers."

shee@heraldcorp.com