Misha Galaganov

Dr. Mikhail “Misha” Galaganov is Professor of Viola and Chair of Strings at Texas Christian University (TCU). As a soloist and chamber musician he has premiered more than 30 compositions for viola alone, viola with piano, and viola in chamber music, written for him by composers from Israel, Russia, Mexico, Peru, Belgium, Italy, Uruguay, and the United States. He also premiered his own arrangement of the 12 Fantasies for Bass Viol by Georg Philipp Telemann on viola — the first live performance of all bass viola fantasies on viola in one concert. As Principal Viola of the Dallas Chamber Symphony, Galaganov has premiered several pieces written for a small symphony orchestra and for string chamber ensembles. 

Galaganov is the founder of numerous chamber music programs. He coordinates the New Music Ensemble (NME) program at TCU and is the founder of the “NME at the Modern Arts Museum” concert series.

Teaching duties have taken Galaganov to major conservatories around the world, and, most recently, he taught all graduate viola students at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin, in addition to his own studio at TCU — stepping in for Roger Myers in the second half of the spring semester 2024.

Galaganov has taught and performed in numerous European and American Festivals. His former viola and violin students can be found as principal players in orchestras, university teachers, soloists, and chamber music performers.

In addition to teaching and performing, Galaganov has written articles and reviews for Strad magazine, has served as a reviewer for American String Teachers Association magazine, and has given lectures and presentations at professional conferences. He is working on several research projects and has made transcriptions and arrangements. His 2022 Navona Records album, CHARM, PASSION, AND ACROBATICS was received with enthusiastic critical acclaim.

Galaganov has a violin performance degree from Russia; B.M. in Viola Performance from Israel; and Artist Certificate, M.M., and D.M.A. degrees from the United States. His teachers include Pavel Galaganov (his father), Mikhail Kugel, Barbara Sudweeks, Martha Katz, and Wayne Brooks. Galaganov plays on an old unique French viola by Mansuy a Paris with gut strings by Damian Dlugolecki.

Albums

Viola Fantasies

Release Date: December 13, 2024
Catalog Number: NV6692
Baroque
Chamber
Solo Instrumental
Viola
VIOLA FANTASIES from virtuoso Misha Galaganov presents the groundbreaking solo works Fantasies for Bass Viol (1735) by Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann. These compositions are the only known solo works from a major Baroque composer to almost ideally complement the modern viola’s range and tonal characteristics. In this album, Galaganov uses natural gut strings and modern tuning to interpret Telemann’s beautiful melodies, inventive polyphony, and dance rhythms. Galaganov uses his scholastic research, knowledge, experience, and musical instincts to inform each performance regarding dynamics, tempi, ornamentation, and other aspects of interpretation. Essential and pleasant listening for all audiences, these works also offer a study in polyphony, ornamentation, bow technique, and more.

Charm, Passion, And Acrobatics

Release Date: June 10, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6434
Romantic
Chamber
Piano
Viola
The story of Misha Galaganov’s CHARM, PASSION, AND ACROBATICS began when the artist uncovered a trove of forgotten, 19th century viola music in a private library. The music on this album from composers Pierre Kunc, Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht, and Ernest Chausson has long gone unplayed; Kunc’s musical manuscripts, for example, were kept under lock and key by the Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music until 2021. Featuring challenging virtuosic pieces alongside expressive, impressionistic masterworks, this album celebrates the boundless potential of the viola. The music transports the listener to a French salon of the Belle Époque, guided by Galaganov and Owings’ sensitive and technically-masterful performances.