Mstislav Rostropovich , nicknamed Slava ("glory" in Russian), is one of the world's greatest musicians, a cellist, conductor and piano accompanist. His relentless energy is combined with an enthusiasm for commissioning and performing new music: the cello repertoire alone has been enlarged by over 60 works from some of the century's greatest composers. To mark Slava's 70th birthday last month,
Sir John Drummond celebrates Rostropovich the cellist and talks to some of his many collaborators and friends, including Yo-Yo Ma, Colin Matthews , Ralph Kirshbaum , Victor and Lillian Hochhauser and Gennadi
Rozhdestvensky.
Producer Fiona Shelmerdtne
SOUNDING THE CENTURY