Int'l Mstislav Rostropovich Festival opens in Russia
By Laman Ismayilova
The 8th International Festival of Mstislav Rostropovich has opened its doors to music lovers. The opening ceremony took place in the city of Orenburg, Russia.
The large-scale event features fascinating arias, duets and scenes from operas by Russian and foreign composers. The festival aroused great interest among the audience.
The Mstislav Rostropovich International Festival was initiared by the Mikhail Rostropovich Foundation for Cultural and Humanitarian Programs in 2010.
The festival brings together the cities that played a special role in the fate of Mstislav Rostropovich - Moscow, Baku and Orenburg.
Born in Baku, Mstislav Rostropovich was internationally recognized as a staunch advocate of human rights. He was awarded the 1974 Award of the International League of Human Rights.
Rostropovich was a huge influence on the younger generation of cellists. Many have openly acknowledged their debt to his example. In the Daily Telegraph, Julian Lloyd Webber called him "probably the greatest cellist of all time."
He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces and formed long-standing artistic partnerships with such prominent composers as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutoslawski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris and Benjamin Britten.
A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has become one of the leading conductors of the West.
He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. They performed together regularly.
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