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.
