In Michigan: The Music Fades

When Misha Rachlevsky was ten years old, he and his violin were escorted by dark-suited security agents into an ornate Moscow hall where he was told to play a solo in a concert.

It was his first real performance. To this day, Rachlevsky has no idea of who was in the audience. "Unfortunately, I don't know whom it was for," says Rachlevsky, now 41. "My father was in the back where the security guards were. He could see me, but he was prevented from seeing who the people were down there."

That concert was several continents back. Since then, Rachlevsky has...