Maestro Rostropovich Died at 81..

[Lily]

 

Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor, was considered by many to be one of the greatest cellists ever. 

He died on April 27, 2007 in Moscow, Russia after having been hospitalized in February of the same year for an undisclosed illness.
 
In 1950, at the age of 23 he was awarded what was then considered the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, the Stalin Prize. At that time, Rostropovich was already well known in his country and while actively pursuing his solo career, he taught at the Leningrad Conservatory (now Saint-Petersburg) and the Moscow Conservatory. In 1955, he married Galina Vishnevskaya, soprano at the Bolshoi Theatre.

His international career started in 1964 in what was then West Germany.

Rostropovich fought for art without borders, freedom of speech and democratic values, resulting in a reprimand from the Soviet regime. His friendship with Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his support for dissidents led to official disgrace in the early 1970s. He was banned from several musical ensembles and his Soviet citizenship was revoked in 1978 because of his public opposition to the USSR's restriction of cultural freedom. Rostropovich left the USSR in 1974 with his wife and children and settled in the United States.

Нет слов как жалко...
 

[Elen]

My opinion about him is he was a good musicant who just should not stick his nose into present days politic  in Russia ( the country where his own children were not going to live in)

[Elen]

 And my condolesses in this sad day are about Kirill Lavrov who passed today too ( he is more "close" for me than american citizen Rostropovich)

For those who don't know him he was a famouse movie and theatre actor here who made a lot for Russian culture



 

[Lily]

Yes, Elen, thanks for posting about Kirill Lavrov.

I think they passed away in a few hours difference..don't you know?

[SANDRO43]

My opinion about him is he was a good musicant who just should not stick his nose into present days politic  in Russia (the country where his own children were not going to live in)

Why on earth should musicians refrain from expressing their political opinions on their current/former country ??? ?

Are those opinions reserved to a special class of Russian citizens, which does not include musicians ??? ?

[Elen]

Why on earth should musicians refrain from expressing their political opinions on their current/former country ??? ?

Are those opinions reserved to a special class of Russian citizens, which does not include musicians ??? ?

 Because being just a musicant he understood little in politic he tried to play here ( like a child with that Kalashnikov of his  instead of violon) And because his own children were not going to test on their own skin a result of that politic then he just carred little about those results that politic caused for people HERE.
( If he carred then he should be ashamed with himself for supporting such "democratic" leaders. )

[Lily]

Elen,

what, in your opinion, was the politics line of Rostropovich that you mention here?

[Elen]

His support of Elcin

[Lily]

Support of Yeltsin in what particular things?

[Elen]

 in building democracy here What else Elcin was busy with 
I don;t know whose PR "idea" it was but Rostropovich always didn't lost a chance to demonstrate his "friendship" with Elcin.

[SANDRO43]

Because being just a musicant he understood little in politic he tried to play here ( like a child with that Kalashnikov of his  instead of violon) And because his own children were not going to test on their own skin a result of that politic then he just carred little about those results that politic caused for people HERE.
(If he carred then he should be ashamed with himself for supporting such "democratic" leaders)

Well Elen, I must agree that if he supported Eltsin enthusiastically, he must have been politically naive, to say  the least.

However, your general statement that musicians should confine themselves to their trade was pointless, and does not support your argument. Musicians as a category are not necessarily brain-dead, as far as politics or any other non-musical subjects are concerned. At least here in the West (I am not much informed about what happens in Russian conservatories ).

I am not a professional musician, but your blanket statement offends me deeply (see how you, too, can be prone to insensitive disrespect and groundless generalisations ?)

[Elen]

Brain-dead or not but they are naive in politic  in best case ( in Russian one at least) And actually  I think that supporting politics is mostly PR action for artists rather than really involving. Rostropovich's actions were always sich a kind - a game for public ( I call that  показуха in Russian) .