Yes, his
passing is marked with sadness, but the man, his life
and his music will never cease to be a cause for celebration.
Below are some of the highlights of his illustrious
life. If you have something to add and would like to
submit it for inclusion, CLICK
HERE. You are also invited to REVISIT
FanFaire's tribute to Rostropovich on his 70th
birthday.
| TIMELINE
of a LIFE WELL-LIVED: |
| |
| 1927 |
born
Mstislav Leopoldovich March 27, Baku (Azerbaijan,
USSR) to Leopold Rostropovich (cellist) and Sofiya
Nikolaevna Fedotov (pianist) |
| |
|
| early
1930s |
began
piano lessons with his mother, later cello lessons
with his father |
| |
|
| mid
1930s |
family
moves to Moscow, Mstislav enters Gnesin Institute |
| |
|
| 1940 |
makes
orchestral debut with Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto
with the orchestra of Slavyansk in Ukraine |
| |
|
| 1943 |
enters
Moscow Conservatory where he studied cello with
Semyon Kozolupov and composition with Dimitri Shostakovich
and also, later with Sergei Prokokiev |
| |
|
| 1945 |
wins
gold medal in first Soviet Union competition for
young musicians |
| |
|
| 1947 |
wins
first prize in Prague international music competition |
| |
|
| 1948 |
graduates
from Moscow Conservatory with highest honors |
| |
|
| 1949/1950 |
wins
first prizes in Prague and Budapest international
music competitions |
| |
|
| 1950 |
receives
Stalin Prize |
| |
|
| early
1950s |
goes
on numerous concert tours in the USSR |
| |
|
| 1952 |
collaborates
with Prokokiev in revision of Sinfonia Concertante
|
| |
|
| 1953 |
completes
Prokokiev's unfinished Concertino Op 132 with Dmitri
Kabalevsky |
| |
|
| 1955 |
marries
Galina Vishnevskaya, leading soprano of Boshoi Opera |
| |
|
| 1956 |
is
appointed Professor of Cello, Moscow Conservatory
of Music; makes British début with Dvorák
Concerto under Hugo Rignold at the Royal Festival
Hall; makes NY recital debut at Carnegie Hall |
| |
|
| late
1950s |
gains
international fame with numerous recital/concert
engagements |
| |
|
| 1960 |
gives
first British performance of Shostakovich's Cello
Concerto No 1 Op 107 which had been written for
him; meets Benjamin Britten, marking the beginning
of a lifelong friendhip with the British composer |
| |
|
| 1963 |
Britten
composes Cello Symphony for Rostropovich; later,
three suites for unaccompanied cello and Sonata
for cello and piano |
| |
|
| 1964 |
premieres
Britten's Cello Symphony in the USSR |
| |
|
| 1965 |
plays
a cycle of concerts in London of works by composers
ranging from Vivaldi to Shostakovich |
| |
|
| 1968 |
begins
conducting career in USSR at Bolshoi Opera with
Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, with his wife singing
Tatyana |
| |
|
| 1970
|
records
Eugene Onegin in Paris; writes an open letter to
leading Soviet newspapers and magazines in support
of writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, protesting
restrictions on cultural freedom |
| |
|
| 1974 |
makes
British conducting debut with the New Philharmonia
Orchestra; is driven to exile with his family after
sheltering Solzhenitsyn, eventually settling in
the US |
| |
|
| 1975
|
makes
US conducting debut with the National Symphony Orchestra
and the San Francisco Opera; acquires the Stradivari
"Duport" cello which once belonged to
Jean Louis Duport, solo cellist to Napoleon |
| |
|
| 1976 |
becomes
Director of Aldeburgh Festival following founder
Benjamin Britten's death |
| |
|
| 1977 |
becomes
musical director of National Symphony Orchestra
and begins numerous engagements as guest conductor
of orchestras all over the world |
| |
|
| 1978 |
is
stripped of Soviet Union citizenship |
| |
|
| 1980 |
declines
offer of citizenship by Gorbachev |
| |
|
| 1983 |
founds
Rostropovich Festival in Evian, France |
| |
|
| 1985 |
RiverRun,
a symphony written for Rostropovich by American
composer Stephen Albert wins Pulitzer Prize |
| |
|
| 1987 |
receives
honorary Knighthood of the British Empire (KBE);
meets Gorbachev in White House |
| |
|
| 1989 |
gives
impromptu, on-the-spot-concert in Berlin shortly
after the fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the collapse
of the Soviet Empire |
| |
|
| 1990 |
Soviet
citizenship is restored; takes the National Symphony
to Moscow and Leningrad |
| |
|
| 1991 |
appears
in Moscow with Yeltsin in defiance of the coup plotters
against Mikhail Gorbachev; records all six of Bach's
Cello Suites at the Basilique Sainte-Madeleine,
in Vézelay (France); founds the in Vishnevskaya-Rostropovich
Foundation for the Health and Future of Children
Washington, DC., with offices in Russia; purchases
homes in Moscow and St. Petersburg |
| |
|
| 1992 |
TV
documentary “Soldiers of Music: Rostropovich
Returns to Russia” released on video in 1992. |
| |
|
| 1993 |
tours
Russia again with the National Symphony and Ignat
Solzhenitsyn, pianist and son of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn;
free concert in Red Square is attended by 100,000
people, marking the beginning of regular concert
appearances in Russia |
| |
|
| 1994 |
steps
down as Director of the National Symphony Orchestra |
| |
|
| 1995 |
his
recording of Bach Cello Suites is released on CD
and video |
| |
|
| 1997 |
offers
regular master classes in Baku |
| |
|
| 1999 |
returns
to Berlin to celebrate 10th anniversary of the Fall
of the Berlin Wall |
| |
|
| 2004 |
Leopold
and Mstislav Rostropovich Home-Museum opens |
| |
|
| 2005 |
announces
retirement from the concert stage as cellist |
| |
|
| early
2007 |
is
hospitalized; Kremlin celebrates his 80th birthday
on March 27; dies April 27; is laid to rest April
29 at the Novodevichy Cemetery following funeral
services at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior |
