Hailed as the finest cellist in the world, the ebullient “Slava” Rostropovich was an unabashed romantic who seemed to pour his Russian soul into every phrase, bowing long, songful lines with a subtle eloquence and purity of tone. Instead of constantly repeating the warhorses, he prodded composers into creating new works for him. Given his flawless technique and his sincere commitment to contemporary music, composers were more than willing to comply. Many works were written for him by some of the 20th century’s leading composers, including Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten, Bernstein, Penderecki and Lutoslawski. In addition to playing the cello, he was also a pianist and often accompanied his wife, the former Bolshoi prima donna Galina Vishnevskaya, at the piano. He made his conducting debut at the Bolshoi Theater in 1967 and first led the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC in 1975. He became Music Director of this orchestra in 1977 and remained at its head for 17 years. He is credited with having immensely raised both the standard and the status of the orchestra. Human rights were always a major concern for Rostropovich – and a major source of trouble. His troubles with the Soviet government began in 1968 after he and his wife showed support for the author Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Rostropovich and his wife suddenly became “invisible”, their engagements were cancelled, their names disappeared from their recordings, from program notes, from the annals of Russian music. The couple was allowed to leave the country in 1974 following the intervention of Leonard Bernstein. After playing at the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Rostropovich made his triumphal return to Russia in 1990 with the National Symphony Orchestra, and he returned several times to show his solidarity with his beleaguered country. Rostropovich died in Moscow on 27 April 2007.

Hailed as the finest cellist in the world, the ebullient “Slava” Rostropovich was an unabashed romantic who seemed to pour his Russian soul into every phrase, bowing long, songful lines with a subtle eloquence and purity of tone. Instead of constantly repeating the warhorses, he prodded composers into creating new works for him. Given his flawless technique and his sincere commitment to contemporary music, composers were more than willing to comply. Many works were written for him by some of the 20th century’s leading composers, including Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten, Bernstein, Penderecki and Lutoslawski. In addition to playing the cello, he was also a pianist and often accompanied his wife, the former Bolshoi prima donna Galina Vishnevskaya, at the piano. He made his conducting debut at the Bolshoi Theater in 1967 and first led the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington DC in 1975. He became Music Director of this orchestra in 1977 and remained at its head for 17 years. He is credited with having immensely raised both the standard and the status of the orchestra. Human rights were always a major concern for Rostropovich – and a major source of trouble. His troubles with the Soviet government began in 1968 after he and his wife showed support for the author Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Rostropovich and his wife suddenly became “invisible”, their engagements were cancelled, their names disappeared from their recordings, from program notes, from the annals of Russian music. The couple was allowed to leave the country in 1974 following the intervention of Leonard Bernstein. After playing at the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Rostropovich made his triumphal return to Russia in 1990 with the National Symphony Orchestra, and he returned several times to show his solidarity with his beleaguered country. Rostropovich died in Moscow on 27 April 2007.