Mstislav Rostropovich
27 March 1927 – 27 April 2007
Mstislav Rostropovich was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He premiered works written for him by composers including Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Britten, and served as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington from 1977 to 1994. After he supported Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn he left the Soviet Union in 1974 and was stripped of his citizenship in 1978; it was restored in 1990.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Mstislav Rostropovich.
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) Overlapped 80 years →
- Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) Overlapped 80 years →
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018) Overlapped 80 years →
- Charles Aznavour (1924–2018) Overlapped 80 years →
- Chen-Ning Yang (1922–2025) Overlapped 80 years →
- David Attenborough (1926–present) Overlapped 80 years →
Life events
Born into a musical family; his father was a cellist and his mother a pianist.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgStudied cello, piano and composition, with teachers including Dmitri Shostakovich.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe couple performed together frequently and later emigrated together.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgBritten wrote the work for him, one of many pieces composed at his request.
The letter, sent to Soviet newspapers, led to restrictions on his performing and recording.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgGranted permission to travel abroad, he settled in the West.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe led the orchestra for seventeen seasons.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe and Galina Vishnevskaya lost their citizenship after continued criticism of the Soviet authorities.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe travelled to Berlin and performed beside the wall as it was being opened.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe died at the age of 80 and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.
Source: en.wikipedia.org