Rostropovich : the musical life of the great cellist, teacher, and legend / Elizabeth Wilson.

Author/creator Wilson, Elizabeth, 1947-
Format Book
Publication InfoChicago : Ivan R. Dee, 2008.
Descriptionxx, 387 pages, 16 pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm
Subjects
Rostropovich, Mstislav, 1927-2007.
Cellists--Biography.

Contents Beginnings -- Studies at the Moscow Conservatoire -- The start of a performing career -- The young teacher -- Contacts with composers I: from Glière to Prokofiev -- Establishing new performance standards (1952-62) -- An independent teacher -- Contacts with composers II: Shostakovich and his successors -- Interlude 1: Natalya Shakhovskaya -- Popularizing the cello -- Interlude 2: Aleksandr Knaifel -- The early 1960s -- Interlude 3: Natalya Gutman -- Teaching principles: class 19 in the 1960s -- Interlude 4: Karine Georgian -- Principles of interpretation -- Interlude 5: Victoria Yagling -- The late 1960s -- Interlude 6: Ivan Monighetti -- The final years in the Soviet Union.
Abstract Mstislav Rostropovich, a legendary musician of the 20th century, died just a month after the English edition of this book was published in April 2007. The author, a British author and former student of Rostropovich, gained access to a great deal of archival information about his years as a faculty member at the Moscow State Conservatory. The book proceeds chronologically through Rostropovich's life and career, with several interpolated chapters devoted to reminiscences from other former pupils. Wilson explores Rostropovich's teaching philosophies and methods and details his warm relationships with several leading composers of the day, notably Benjamin Britten and Dmitry Shostakovich. Unfortunately, the author ends her narrative in 1974, the year of Rostropovich's forced departure from the Soviet Union. She acknowledges that a study of the remaining 33 years of his life--during which he was principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, and taught and performed around the globe--could fill several volumes, and one hopes that she will rise to the challenge of completing the biography of this great musician, humanist, and pedagog. Recommended for all music collections.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 359-362) and index.
LCCN 2007029875
ISBN9781566637763 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN1566637767 (cloth : alk. paper)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Music Stacks ML418.R77 W55 2008 ✔ Available Place Hold