Edward Maisel

MAISEL--Edward, 90, internationally known writer on music and Tai Chi, died March 21, 2008 after a long illness. A resident of NYC, he was born in Buffalo, NY. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard University where he was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Maisel's inimitable character was reflected in his career that broadened the audience for many "hidden gems." He wrote Charles T. Griffes: the Life of an American Composer, the first and still influential biography of this major early American composer. Mr. Maisel also produced a CD, The Songs of Charles T. Griffes. In 1986, he produced Griffes' final but unfinished work, Salut au Monde for the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater. Mr. Maisel was instrumental in shaping thinking about physical fitness. He wrote Tai Chi for Health, the first Western manual of the classic (Yang) form of the Chinese system of meditative exercise. A world traveler, he visited China during the eras of Mao and Deng refining his understanding of Tai Chi. In The Alexander Technique, Mr. Maisel wrote the introduction and edited the writings of F. Mattias Alexander. This book on Alexander's method of body-mind training became widely used as a textbook for actors and dancers. His other books related to fitness include Have Your Baby, Keep Your Figure and Fit to Drive. His article, Should Veterans Have Legs?, about the poor quality of artificial limbs available to WWII veterans helped prompt the government's investigation of prosthesis. He served as director of research at the International Center of the Disabled, director of the American Physical Fitness Research Institute and in Hawaii, where he lived for many years, director of Ka Lima O Maui, a sheltered workshop for the disabled. He was predeceased by his wife, Betty Cage, general manager of the NYC Ballet and by five sisters. He is survived by a brother-in-law Robert O. Swados of Buffalo and many nieces and nephews. Donations may be made in his name to the Artemis Center, 310 West Monument Ave., Dayton, Ohio 45402.