In the XX century, Mstislav Rostropovich lived and created, a great composer who left behind a huge cultural heritage. He had a significant influence on the development of musical art as a whole, and was widely recognized not only at home, but also in many other countries. Over his life, Rostropovich has created a lot of musical works that are performed in conservatories now.
His talent was recognized abroad – the Royal Academy of Music of Sweden and Great Britain accepted him as an honorary member. During his life, Rostropovich received about forty prestigious awards in different countries, and many more – in the USSR and Russia. The whole family of Mstislav Rostropovich was very musical. Mother is a pianist, father is a cellist, grandfather is a composer. He himself was not only a brilliant composer and conductor, but also a talented musician. He perfectly mastered the cello and piano, and his first teachers were his own parents. The international competition of cellists, which is held every year in France, was founded precisely by M. Rostropovich. The memory of Rostropovich is devoted to about sixty famous musical works created by other composers.
Almost thirty cities in a dozen countries awarded him the title of honorary citizen. Mstislav Rostropovich was officially recognized as the best conductor of North America. After immigrating to the United States, he directed the country’s National Symphony Orchestra for seven years. For 12 years, Rostropovich was deprived of Soviet citizenship. He was taken from him four years after leaving the country, but later still returned. In the Soviet era, leaving the Union was not easy. When the composer nevertheless decided to act, considerable assistance was rendered to him by E. Kennedy, an American senator who wanted to lure such a significant person to the USA.
Rostropovich openly supported Solzhenitsin, the disgraced writer, despite the fact that it was frankly dangerous. He even personally wrote a letter to Brezhny, speaking in his defense. He repeatedly performed on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. On his stage, he staged operas created by S. Prokofiev and P. Tchaikovsky. Rostropovich’s wife, G. Vishnevskaya, was also a man of art. She was an opera singer, known throughout the world. The Grammy Award the composer received as many as five times. Mstislav Rostropovich was born in Azerbaijan, in the city of Baku. In the USSR and Russia, he received all the most prestigious prizes and awards.
