Here is some sad music world news:

Mstislav Rostropovich, the cellist, conductor and champion of human rights who stood at the center of musical and international life for more than half a century, died Friday of cancer at a Moscow hospital. He was 80. (continue reading)

I only got a chance to work with Slava once, but it was a very memorable experience. In 1999 he conducted the Civic Orchestra of Chicago in a concert featuring Shostakovich’s 5th and 9th symphonies. I remember being very excited to get a chance to work with someone that I had seen and heard so many times in the past, both as a cellist and as a conductor.

Music critic and blogger Alex Ross has put up a clip of Slava playing the Britten Cello Suite No. 1. Click here to play this clip.

Many classical music bloggers have been posting memories of Slava. Here are some worth checking out:

Mstislav Rostropovich – from oboeinsight
Slava – from OhMyTrill
Slava, R.I.P. – from On a Pacific Aisle
FriPod: Slava – from Musical Perceptions
Farewell, Slava – from Jessica Duchen’s classical music blog
Rostropovich – reaching out for the music – from On An Overgrown Path
Sad news in the cello world – from Life, Lived Daily
Slava, Dead at 80 – from Sequenzia21
Mstislav Rostropovich, 1927-2007 – from daily observations
Mstislav Rostropovich, 1927-2007 – from ionarts

Patty from oboeinsight also posted links to some YouTube videos of Slava playing. Here are a few to remember him by:

Haydn Cello Concerto

Brahms Double Concerto with David Oistrakh

Dvorak Cello Concerto

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