
Summer 1997 (5.2)
Page 19
Rostropovich
Celebrates
70th
Jubilee in Baku
Other articles about Rostropovich
(1) "Rostropovich:
The Home Museum" by Gulnar Aydamirova. (AI 11.2, Summer
2003)
(2) "Intellectual
Responsibility. When Silence is Not Golden." Conversations
with Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya by Claude
Samuel. (AI 13.2, Summer 2005)
(3) "Rostropovich & Galina: Celebrating Their 50th
Wedding Anniversary" by Betty Blair and Sheyla Heydarova.
(AI 13.2, Summer 2005)
(4) "Famous
People: Then and Now. Mstislav Rostropovich - Cellist and
Conductor (1927-2007)." (AI 7.4, Winter1999)
(5) "Rostropovich:
Happy 75th Birthday. World-Famous Cellist Celebrates in Baku."
(AI 10.1, Spring 2002)
(6) "Philharmonic Reopens: Renovation
of Baku's Prestigious Concert Hall," by Abid Sharifov,
Deputy Prime Minister. (AI 12.2, Summer 2004).
 This
past April, the world-renowned conductor and cellist Mstislav
Rostropovich came home to Baku to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Rostropovich was born in Baku, but had spent most of his professional
life in Moscow. In 1974, he defected from the Soviet Union and
has lived in the U.S. and Paris ever since.
On this trip to what he called
"the mystical city of Baku," he was accompanied by
his wife, Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya, their two daughters and
grandchildren. "I want my grandchildren to know that their
roots are in Baku," he said.
It was a grand five-day birthday party as the entire city celebrated
his homecoming. The climax of the visit came when the cellist
performed works by Mozart, Haydin, Tchaikovsky and Azerbaijani
composer, Gara Garayev with the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra
on May 2.
President Heydar Aliyev presented
Rostropovich with Azerbaijan's highest honor, the Order of Glory.
Plans are being made to name one of Baku's music schools after
him and to establish music scholarships in his name. His former
residence will be converted into a museum and a marble plaque
erected outside the building.
Rostropovich was concerned about
the unresolved 8-year-old Karabakh conflict and offered to play
for the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan for as long as it
took to settle the long dispute.
In March Rostropovich was also
feted by French President Jacques Chirac at a celebration in
Paris that President Aliyev attended. In May he visited Moscow
and President Boris Yeltsin also presented him with Russia's
highest state award.
From Azerbaijan International
(5.2)
Summer 1997.
© Azerbaijan International 1997. All rights reserved.
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