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Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 5:02:02 PM   
outlier


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The Great Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich died today.  The man is generally acknowledged
to be the finest cellist in the world from the time of  Pablo Casals until the ascendency of
YoYo Ma, who sited Rostropovich as an inspiration and mentor.

We have lost a great artist of integrity and courage. He is quoted as saying:
"All my life I wanted to play music with love to every member of the audience."

Here are two on biographies of him and excerpts:

http://www.sonyclassical.com/artists/rostropovich/bio.html

http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/?fuseaction=showIndividual&entity_id=3473&source_type=A

From 1969 until then Mr. Rostropovich and his wife the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya had supported the banned novelist Alexander Solzhenitsyn not only by allowing him to live in their dacha outside Moscow but by writing an open letter to Brezhnev protesting against Soviet restrictions on cultural freedom in 1970. These actions resulted in the cancellation of concerts and foreign tours for Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya, a Soviet media black-out and the cessation of all recording projects. In 1974 they were finally granted exit visas, effectively allowing them to go into exile. Four years later they were stripped of their Soviet citizenship, a decree which held until 1990.

Since 1974 Rostropovich has become one of the leading conductors in the West. He is Music Director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington and is a regular guest conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic. His recent recordings for Sony Classical include Schnittke´s Cello Concerto no. 2 and In Memoriam, and "Return to Russia", a unique audio and video documentation of Rostropovich´s tour of Russia in 1990 with the National Symphony Orchestra, Washington, his first visit there since his exile

Benjamin Britten, who wrote his Cello Symphony, his Sonata for Cello and Piano and the three Suites for Solo Cello especially with Rostropovich in mind. Other composers who have written for Rostropovich include Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Boulez, Berio, Messiaen, Schnittke, Bernstein, Dutilleux and Lutoslawski.

Outlier


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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 5:04:36 PM   
puella


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Status: offline 		I saw that too Outlier... what a loss.. we have very few real genius' anymore.  The man was a living legend. 

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 5:09:33 PM   
pollux


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Status: offline 		RIP Slava.

I heard NPR's feature on him on the way home from work tonight.  They played part of the 1961 recording of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto, interviewed Yo-Yo Ma and closed with a recording he made a few years ago of the Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello.   What an incredible & inspiring musician....

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 5:13:14 PM   
Griswold


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quote:

ORIGINAL: puella

I saw that too Outlier... what a loss.. we have very few real genius' anymore.  The man was a living legend. 


I, of course, one of the unwashed masses, having never heard of this fellow Rostropovich, and am entirely unfamiliar with his musical prose.

I often wonder about all this praise for someone who simply believed in doing his best.

No one praises the carpenter in such a fashion....very few will spend endless effort on a landscaper.

Geniuses abount everywhere we look.  They invented the simplest of things...and we use them daily.

I think we too often assign "genius" to people who were simply creative....and actually cared enough about their craft to study it...and practice.

(However, since I can't read music...as well as play a musical instrument....I'll accept the fact that he was a genius).

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 5:18:15 PM   
puella


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Status: offline 		For those of us who love the music he was a part of... he had special meaning... he was one of the greatest artists of our age. 

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We must move forward, not backward, upward, not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom...... The Simpsons

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." ...Ambrose Bierce

"Don't you oppress me!"....Stan/Loretta

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 5:45:30 PM   
rimbaud


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Status: offline 		I am constrained to enter this colloquy and opine that Griswold has missed the point. A genius does not merely master his "craft". The person who does that is an artisan. An artist, however, not only masters his craft but also uplifts and transcends it to express spirituality and philosophy as he performs (or creates). Until society as a whole appreciates the distinction, artists will probably be fewer and fewer. It is interesting that Rostropovitch was compared with Casals and Ma and not with Feuermann, who was the real artist among the cellists of the last millenium. (I have not experienced one yet in this millennium, but one can hope.) We don't idolize the carpenter because he is not interpreting a work of art that already existed in the mind of the creator. When Slava played the Dvorak Concerto he entered and expanded the world of genius that was already there waiting to be revealed. Pity that the recording industry has so denatured music that the real artistic experience of being in the room with the aura of the performer and not what the technicians think is a proper sound (they are usually wrong) is becoming harder and harder to find. Enough rant. Suffice to express the satisfaction of being on a site with other kindred souls. Philistines don't matter.
Arthur

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 5:49:30 PM   
puella


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Status: offline 		I was lucky enough to see him in masterclasses with the students when I was at Juilliard.  He was an incredible man and he had a way of making music magically tangeable... you experienced him. 

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We must move forward, not backward, upward, not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom...... The Simpsons

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 8:28:00 PM   
Casie


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Status: offline 		Very sad indeed.

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/27/2007 11:51:15 PM   
outlier


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quote:

ORIGINAL: rimbaud

It is interesting that Rostropovitch was compared with Casals and Ma and not with Feuermann, who was the real artist among the cellists of the last millenium.


rimbaud,

Thank you for your contribution.  The omission you detected above is mine.
I sought to place him chronologically, not artistically. 

Outlier


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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 12:50:58 AM   
seeksfemslave


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quote:

Griswold]
I think we too often assign "genius" to people who were simply creative....and actually cared enough about their craft to study it...and practice.


I certainly believe that the word <genius> is used recklessly. I rather doubt Rostropovitch was one. He was an interpreter of other peoples creativity. NO? 
Much comment on classical music always seems to me to be more about the sensitivities/insights of the commentator than the music itself.
In 100 years time MrR will most likely be totally forgotten as will the great unwashed masses.

< Message edited by seeksfemslave -- 4/28/2007 12:52:13 AM >

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 6:20:55 AM   
outlier


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Status: offline 		Hello Seeks,

I think the questions raised and addressed by the people
who have responded here are interesting.  I am mulling
the formulation of a thread addressing them.  Until then
however I think a quick trip to the dictionary is sufficient
to answer your question.  So I went to Dictionary.com
and found these as the 1st,2nd and 8th definitions.

Genius:
1.    an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in
      creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.: the genius of Mozart.

2.    a person having such capacity.

8.    a person who strongly influences for good or ill the character, conduct,
      or destiny of a place, or thing: Rasputin, the evil genius of Russian politics.

There are more options there if you care to check for yourself;
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=genius&x=0&y=0

A think a cursery glance there will prove that Puella's use of
the word to characterize Rostropovitch is more than justified.

Outlier


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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 9:06:25 AM   
pollux


Posts: 657
Joined: 7/26/2005
Status: offline 		If you don't know who Rostropovich was or never heard him play...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud3BvW2MAj4



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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 9:32:19 AM   
imthatacheyouhav


Posts: 1259
Joined: 4/16/2007
Status: offline 		What a tremendous loss.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnzLEDDbANY&mode=related&search=

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 9:33:14 AM   
puella


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Joined: 12/2/2004
Status: offline 		Thank yo pollux and outlier,


Though I must add... if you do not want to see and know beauty and wonder, you never will, no matter what links you provide to it.

Does anyone know if he ever recorded the Elgar Cello Concerto?  Though the difinitive to me will always be Jaqueline du Pre, I would love to hear him 'saw at it', to be a total pleb :)



_____________________________

We must move forward, not backward, upward, not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom...... The Simpsons

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." ...Ambrose Bierce

"Don't you oppress me!"....Stan/Loretta

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 10:36:04 AM   
seeksfemslave


Posts: 4011
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Status: offline 		Outlier provided this definition of genius.
quote:

an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in 
creative and original work in science, art, music, etc.: the genius of Mozart.


Seems like a good definition to me MrO. 
Note the bit I have high lighted.. What did Rostropovitch create or originate ?

Just to show how odd my views are, somewhere on the extremities of the bell curve MrO, nudge nudge, I do not find the sound of a solo violin or cello very pleasant tho I know that some intensely passionate music has been written , especially for the violin.

Now a large bank of violins is  a different matter all together. Listen for example to that famous slow movement of the Mahler symphon,. the one used as background to the film Death in Venice.
I hope its Mahler I dont tend to collect "names". Pretty sure it is tho'

< Message edited by seeksfemslave -- 4/28/2007 10:45:50 AM >

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 10:37:58 AM   
puella


Posts: 2457
Joined: 12/2/2004
Status: offline 		This is so not the place to sling shit.  I will email you.

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We must move forward, not backward, upward, not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom...... The Simpsons

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." ...Ambrose Bierce

"Don't you oppress me!"....Stan/Loretta

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 10:56:43 AM   
outlier


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Status: offline 		puella,

You are in trouble now.  You owe me one. 

http://www.answers.com/topic/haydn-cello-concerto-in-c

I know we are on opposite coasts, but thats OK
I will just keep adding on interest until I can collect.

Outlier


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"A happy sex life may take years to achieve, but it’s worth it in the long run.
Worth the time, the thought - or rather, the thoughtfulness - and, often,
the waiting." Pete Seeger

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 11:01:06 AM   
puella


Posts: 2457
Joined: 12/2/2004
Status: offline 		I cn not get through the Elgar without weeping... I mean a total break down .. an elemental weeping... it is so profoundly beatiful...in so many horrible ways.

Thank you , Outlier.

_____________________________

We must move forward, not backward, upward, not forward, and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom...... The Simpsons

War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." ...Ambrose Bierce

"Don't you oppress me!"....Stan/Loretta

(in reply to outlier)
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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 11:39:40 AM   
outlier


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Status: offline 		Seeks,

I answered you with a courtesy your initial post did
not deserve because I was attempting not to sully
a thread of some worth and solemnity.

You can do your own research from now on.  The
answer to your question is readily avaliable and if
I thought you were sincere I would provide it.

We all know that it takes more to create than to
destroy.  Even to appreciate takes some effort,
But those that do not with to feel left out can always
assert their flagging ego by destroying. 

Unfortunately for you you have been reduced to
attempting to inflate yourself by destroying a thread
about a man.  Not a man, but a thread about one.
How sad and pathetic for you. 

I do pity you but I am not going to be tricked into
researching things and then returning with them until
you weary of your disingenuous game.

If you are sincere in your question then seek your
answer on google.  You will find many examples
of his original contributions listed there in his obits.

I now acknowledge that rimbaud was correct:
"Philistines don't matter."

Outlier





_____________________________

Avatar from xkcd.com

"A happy sex life may take years to achieve, but it’s worth it in the long run.
Worth the time, the thought - or rather, the thoughtfulness - and, often,
the waiting." Pete Seeger

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RE: Rostropovich, The Great Artist Has Died. - 4/28/2007 11:57:54 AM   
seeksfemslave


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Joined: 6/16/2006
Status: offline 		I cannot see that not agreeing that a person is a genius destroys anything.
Disagreeing you MrO is of no import whatsoever. Is it ?

In the UK when someone calls a person a philistine it not infreqently means that they expect a subsidy or at least admiration. lol 

I also read somewhere that the philistines were quite a cultured lot and unfairly maligned so maybe Rimbaud was bimbo !

< Message edited by seeksfemslave -- 4/28/2007 12:01:26 PM >

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