Mstislav Rostropovich

Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was born in Baku, USSR on March 27, 1927. His first name means "avenged glory"; he is familiarly known by the root of the name, "Slava," which means "glory." His father, Leopold, was an excellent cellist and after 1931 a teacher at the Gnesin Institute, Moscow and had been a pupil of Moscow Conservatory. Slava's mother was an accomplished pianist. The family ...more