CELLIST MISHA QUINT & PIANIST ALEXEI VOLODIN PERFORM IN SONGS WITHOUT WORDS at Carnegie Hall

InterHarmony® Concert Series returns to Carnegie Hall on January 23 with Songs Without Words, featuring cellist Misha Quint and pianist Alexei Volodin. Two virtuosos reunite for a concert framed around the simple idea: music doesn’t need lyrics for the highest expression, with poignantly romantic works by Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Davydov and Rostropovich. Tickets can be purchased at carnegiehall.org or by calling 212.247.7800.

After the concert, Quint and Volodin’s new album, Paris Mirages, will be available for purchase. It will be the debut album for the new InterHarmony® Records label.

About the Program

The concert will begin from Romance without Words, a piece written by Karl Dadvidov, a monumental cello virtuoso of the 19th century, with sweet and charming melodies. It will end with the music of of the 20th century icon of cello playing, Mstislav Rostropovich, with his Humoresque. These two pieces create a foundation for a bridge made of masterpieces of the cello and piano repertoire at the concert.

That spirit will continue in Franz Schubert’s Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano. Originally written for the now-extinct arpeggione, a hybrid instrument that was part guitar and part bowed strings, this sonata is now only played on the cello, which allows the work to take on new warmth and depth.

Felix Mendelssohn’s Song without Words is next, which gave inspiration for the program theme. When Mendelssohn’s friend, Marc-André Souchay, tried to compose words to the music, the composer objected, saying: “There is so much talk about music, and yet so little said…With me it is exactly the reverse, and not only with regard to an entire speech, but also with individual words. These seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words. ” 

At the heart of the program is Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano, written after the composer experienced a severe bout of depression, and premiered with Rachmaninoff at the piano with his friend Antoliy Brandukov in 1901. Sonata is notable for treating piano and cello as equal soloists. Its thick chordal structure and use of the full range of both instruments allow for an intensity imitative of the dynamic expression only found in symphony orchestra performances.

In Rachmaninoff’s haunting Vocalise, originally written for wordless human voice, the cello and piano will recreate this familiar melody with profound emotional intensity without language.

Rostropovich’s Humoresque is a perfect ending for the evening’s journey. This virtuosic, almost acrobatic piece is perfect for the duo, written as a birthday gift for Rostropovich’s teacher and famously learned overnight—showcasing brilliance, agility, and playful spirit. 

All together with this romantic program in the setting of Carnegie Hall with two international performers, Songs Without Words is a night you can’t miss. More information can be found at interharmony.com.

Artist Biographies

Misha Quint, cello

Russian-born cellist MISHA QUINT captivates his audiences with his lyricism, passion and dazzling technique. Described by Bordighera TV as a “a musician of virtuosic genius ability and by Harris Goldsmith as a "brilliantly accomplished virtuoso - an embodiment of interpretive and executive music-making at its rarefied best", his repertoire ranges from Bach to premieres of the most outstanding composers of today, including Alfred Schnittke, Sophie Goubadalina, Robert Sirota, Shulamit Ran, Steven Gerber, Nathan Davis, Ezra Laderman, and Stepan Lucky. Quint is Founder and Music Director of the InterHarmony® International Music Festival that take place in Acqui Terme, Piedmont, Italy, InterHarmony® Concert Series at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and InterHarmony International School of Music. Misha Quint’s new CD with pianist Alexei Volodin, Paris Mirages, will be released on InterHarmony Records in January 2026. Recent and upcoming engagements include appearances at Carnegie Hall in Songs without Words with Alexei Volodin and a tour with the Lomza Philharmonic and conductor Jan Miosz Zarzycki in Poland, Beethoven Triple Concerto in Las Vegas with conductor Taras Krysa, and chamber music in Los Angeles.

A graduate of the Leningrad Special School for the Gifted and the Leningrad State Conservatory, Misha Quint made his orchestral debut at the age of 13 after winning first prize at the Boccherini Competition in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad). He gained international recognition after capturing top prizes in the 1975 International Competition in Prague and the Russian National Competition. Quint immigrated to the US and made his critically acclaimed New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y and his orchestral debut in Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in 1992. He has given numerous solo recitals and master classes in the leading halls of England, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Russia, Latvia, Georgia, Belorussia, Romania, Italy, and the US. “[Quint] provides a fresh voice…The Russian school of string playing has taken on a different light with Quint” said Daniel Webster of the Philadelphia Inquirer and “a master of probing sentiment, shaded phrasing, and flawless technique” from MetroWest.

Misha Quint has appeared with such celebrated orchestras as the New York Chamber Symphony, Metropolitan Symphony, the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Leningrad State Orchestra, Orchestra of Classical and Contemporary Music, National Irish Symphony, the Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional do Brasilia and with the Symphony Orchestras of Latvia and Georgia among others. He has worked with an equally illustrious group of conductors including Maxim Shostakovich, Christian Vásquez, Paul Lustig Dunkel, Colman Pearce, Sidney Harth, Ravil Martinov, Yakov Bergman, and Ira Levin. Quint is an active chamber musician and has performed with such artists as Nikolai Znaider, Vadim Repin, Shlomo Mintz, Bela Davidovich, Bruno Canino, Julian Rachlin, Jean-Bernard Pommier, Sherban Lupu, Boris Kushnir, and Mikhail Kopelman.

As a special guest artist, Misha Quint was broadcast in live television performances in Westchester, NY; "The Jewish Entertainment Hour"; German Television, Italian Television, RTN/WMNB; and live radio broadcast recitals on WQXR's "The Listening Room", WGBH (Boston), WMNB (NJ), WNYC (NY). Quint captured first prize of the CRS National competition in 2009, was a featured performer at The Festival of the Musical Citadel in Brasov, Romania in August 2013 and 2014, and is the Founder of the InterHarmony Concert Series at Carnegie Hall in New York and the former InterHarmony Concert Series at the Modern Museum of Art in Fort Worth, Texas. Quint’s discography includes Live Cello Recitals and Valse Sentimentale on the Volshebnik Productions Label, and the 2014 release of Tempo Trapezio and 2016 release of Matryoshka Blues on the Blue Griffin Label. Quint captured the gold medal inthe March 2016 Global Music Awards for his recording, Matryoshka Blues, on the Blue Griffin label in three categories: instrumentalist, album, and new release, and was featured in the top five spring albums in Global Music Awards. Quint’s recording of Tchaikovsky’s Valse Sentimentale is featured in the 2022 Italian Netflix production of Fedeltà.

Misha Quint is strongly committed to teaching and is on the faculty of InterHarmony International School of Music. He has been on the faculty of the International Institute of Music in Marktoberdorf, Germany, and was Music Director and Founder of the Soesterberg International Music Festival in Holland from 1998 – 2007, the Intensive Cello Studies Abroad in Blonay, Chalet de lacroix at the Hindemith Foundation in 1997, Interharmony Music Festival in Geneva, Switzerland in 2000, The Berkshires, Massachusetts from 2007 – 2008, San Francisco, California in 2009, Hinterzarten, Schwarzwald, Germany from 2008 – 2011, in Tuscany, Italy from 2012 – 2016, presently in Acqui Terme, Italy since 2017, and from 2005-2019 in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Bavaria, Germany. Quint studied with Emmanuel Fishman, Natalia Gutman, Boris Pergamenshikov, and Daniel Shafran.

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Alexei Volodin, piano

Acclaimed for his highly sensitive touch and technical brilliance, Alexei Volodin is in demand by orchestras at the highest level. He possesses an extraordinarily diverse repertoire, ranging from Beethoven and Brahms through Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Scriabin, to Shchedrin and Medtner.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include performances across Europe, Asia and North America, with appearances in Canada, Israel, Greece, Japan, Spain, the Czech Republic, and China. In recital, Volodin performs in Vilnius, Winnipeg, Beijing’s NCPA, and Shanghai Concert Hall, further showcasing the depth and flexibility of his solo repertoire.

In previous seasons, Volodin has appeared with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, NCPA Orchestra China, BBC Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Kyoto Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, The Mariinsky Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and St Petersburg Philharmonic. He has collaborated with conductors including Valery Gergiev, Semyon Bychkov, Stanislav Kochanovsky, and Robert Trevino.

Volodin regularly appears in recital in leading venues such as Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barcelona’s Palau de la Música, Mariinsky Theatre, Paris’ Philharmonie, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional de Música, and Zentrum Paul Klee.

As an active chamber musician, he has a long-standing collaboration with many artists including Igor Levit, Claire Huangci, and Sol Gabetta. Previous chamber partners include Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin, and Mischa Maisky, as well as the Borodin Quartet, Modigliani Quartet, Cuarteto Casals and Cremona Quartet. This season he performs with artists such as Ilya Gringolts, Alban Gerhardt, and Eldbjørg Hemsing for trio recitals and regularly works with Igor Levit, Claire Huangci, and his wife Edith Peña for piano duo recitals.

Volodin’s latest album with the Mariinsky label was Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.4, conducted by Gergiev. Recording for Challenge Classics, Volodin’s disc of solo Rachmaninov works was released in 2013. He also recorded a solo album of Schumann, Ravel and Scriabin, and his earlier Chopin disc won a Choc de Classica and was awarded five stars by Diapason.

A regular artist at festivals, Volodin has performed at Kaposvár International Chamber Music Festival, Festival Les nuits du Château de la Moutte, Variations Musicales de Tannay, Bad Kissingen Sommer Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron, Les Rencontres Musicales d'Évian, Festival La Folle Journée, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, St. Magnus International Festival, Interharmony Festival, the Moscow Easter Festival, and Dresdner Musikfestspiele.

Born in 1977 in Leningrad, Alexei Volodin studied at Moscow’s Gnessin Academy and later with Eliso Virsaladze at the Moscow Conservatoire. In 2001, he continued his studies at the International Piano Academy Lake Como and gained international recognition following his victory at the International Géza Anda Competition in Zürich in 2003.Alexei Volodin is an exclusive Steinway artist.

HarrisonParrott represents Alexei Volodin for general management.