Int'l Mstislav Rostropovich Festival wraps up

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The 10th International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival has solemnly closed.

The festival took place in Baku on April 22-27, bringing together world-famous musicians from Azerbaijan, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, etc.

The event was co-organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Culture Ministry and the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation, Trend Life reported.

During the six days, music lovers enjoyed spectacular concerts with participation of talented musicians. The festival participants included the Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne (Switzerland), the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater of Boris Eifman (Russia), MunchenKlang ensemble (Germany), Boris Berezovsky (piano), Sergey Krylov (violin), Efim Bronfman (piano), conductor Joshua Wallerstein and others.

MünchenKlang ensemble conducted by Thomas Hefele delighted the audience at the festival's closing ceremony.

The concert program included works by Giuseppe Verdi, Camille Saint-Saens, Igor Stravinsky, Gabriel Faure and Franz Schubert. Anna Karmazina (soprano) and Ludwig Mittelhammer (baritone) performed at the evening.

Born in Baku, Mstislav Rostropovich was internationally recognized as a staunch advocate of human rights. He was awarded the 1974 Award of the International League of Human Rights.

Rostropovich was a huge influence on the younger generation of cellists. Many have openly acknowledged their debt to his example. In the Daily Telegraph, Julian Lloyd Webber called him "probably the greatest cellist of all time."

He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces and formed long-standing artistic partnerships with such prominent composers as Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutoslawski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris and Benjamin Britten.

A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has become one of the leading conductors of the West.

He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966. They performed together regularly.