Misha Dichter, born September 27, 1945, in Shanghai to Polish-Jewish parents fleeing World War II, is an acclaimed American pianist whose career spans over six decades. Relocating to Los Angeles at age two, he began piano lessons at five, laying the groundwork for a prodigious talent shaped by rigorous study. He trained under Aube Tzerko, a student of Artur Schnabel, who instilled a meticulous approach to musical analysis, and later with Rosina Lhévinne at The Juilliard School, embodying the Russian Romantic tradition. Dichter also studied composition with Leonard Stein, a disciple of Arnold Schoenberg, enriching his interpretive depth.

At 20, while still at Juilliard, Dichter won the Silver Medal at the 1966 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, propelling him onto the world stage. His debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Erich Leinsdorf at Tanglewood, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, was broadcast live on NBC and recorded for RCA. He later debuted with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein in 1968, cementing his reputation. Dichter’s dual heritage—Russian Romanticism and German Classicism—shines in his performances of Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, and Brahms, with major orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

His extensive discography on Philips, RCA, Music Masters, Pentatone and Koch Classics includes a range of recordings from the Brahms Concerti with Kurt Masur and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra to Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ with John Williams and the Boston Pops. A champion of chamber music, Dichter has performed almost the entire chamber music repertoire at all the major music festivals.  He also often performs two-piano and four-hand works with his wife, Cipa Dichter, a brilliant Brazilian-born pianist he met at Juilliard. Their 2005 recording of Mozart’s complete four-hand piano works on Nimbus was hailed as “an unmitigated delight” by American Record Guide.  Their Mozart Double Concerto is legendary!

Beyond music, Dichter is a writer, contributing to The New York Times, and a skilled sketch artist whose drawings have been exhibited in New York galleries. He teaches masterclasses at Juilliard, Curtis, Yale, and Aspen, emphasizing artistry over careerism. Residing in New York with Cipa, their Springer Spaniel Baxter, and father to two sons, Dichter remains a vital force in classical music, blending technical wizardry, sense of sound and intellectual rigor with passionate expression.