Mstislav Rostropovich
cellist

Mstislav Rostropovich

  • March 27, 1927 Bakou (Azerbaïdjan) - April 27, 2007 Moscow (Russia)

Biography

Cellist, conductor and tireless campaigner for freedom of speech and human rights, Rostropovich was a musician like no other, one who used his supreme talent and prominence for the most humane purposes, from squeezing money from the Soviet Union of Composers for a starving Prokofiev to celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall with an impromptu recital of a Bach cello suite. Some of the greatest new works for cello were written expressly for him, including concertos by Lutosławski, Dutilleux and his teacher and lifelong friend Shostakovich, and together with his wife, the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, he became for many years a fixture at the Aldeburgh Festival, where he gave frequent performances with Britten.

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All videos related to Mstislav Rostropovich (7)

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Mstislav Rostropovich, The Indomitable Bow by Bruno Monsaingeon
Mstislav Rostropovich, The Indomitable Bow by Bruno Monsaingeon

Enhanced with exclusive, never-before-seen comm...

documentary
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Benjamin Britten conducts Tchaikovsky and Britten — With Mstislav Rostropovich
Benjamin Britten conducts Tchaikovsky and Britten — With Mstislav Rostropovich

English Chamber Orchestra (Aldeburgh, 1969-1970)

concert
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Soldiers of Music: Rostropovich Returns to Russia
Soldiers of Music: Rostropovich Returns to Russia

Portrait of the cellist, conductor, and defende...

documentary
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Leonard Bernstein conducts Schumann's Cello Concerto – With Mstislav Rostropovich
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Mstislav Rostropovitch, intimate
Mstislav Rostropovitch, intimate

Portrait of the cellist by Alain Duault

documentary