ROSTROPOVICH, MSTISLAV

born March 27, 1927, Baku, Azerbaijan S.S.R. in full Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich Soviet conductor and pianist and one of the best-known cellists of the 20th century. Trained by his parents (a cellist and a pianist) and at the Moscow Conservatory (194348), Rostropovich in 1956 became professor of cello at the Moscow Conservatory. He began touring abroad in the 1950s. He also performed as a pianist in recitals with his wife, the soprano Galina P. Vishnevskaya, and in 1968 he made his debut as a conductor. When in 1970 Rostropovich made clear his support of the dissident Soviet writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the government sharply curtailed his ability to travel. In 1974, however, he and his wife were permitted to leave the country, and in 1975 they announced their decision not to return to the Soviet Union. In 1977 Rostropovich became music director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. The Soviet government deprived them of their citizenship in 1978 but reversed that decision in 1990. Although sometimes criticized for occasional over-romanticism, Rostropovich is admired for his keen musicianship, both in contemporary works and in the established concert repertory. His exploitation of the tonal resources of the cello is considered exceptional. Composers who wrote works for him include Aram Khachaturian, Sergey Prokofiev, Dmitry Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten, and Witold Lutoslawski.