Goodbye Rostropovich
The soon-to-be-even-more-legendary-than-he-already-was cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich passed away last week. There is no way I can give a summary of his life better than the BBC or Wikipedia can. My contribution is a link to this sweetly innocent and enchanting performance of his, conducting Shostakovich’s “Tahiti Trot”, an orchestration of the song “Tea for Two” (which he apparently did on a 100 ruble bet).
I think I first became really aware of Rostropovich when I discovered Shotakovich’s cello concertos, both of which were written with Mstislav in mind, and both of which were premiered by him. It’s sad to lose such a huge figure in the musical world, and with such a link to the great dead composers. His legacy will be large, though. It’s strange how much bigger artists can grow in the public eye after their deaths.