Rachmaninov; Shostakovich; Ravel - Orchestral Works (Mstislav Rostropovich; Kirill Kondrashin)

Information

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninov; Dmitri Shostakovich;  Maurice Ravel

• Rachmaninov - Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44
• Shostakovich - Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, Op. 107
• Ravel - La valse, M. 72 (Version for Orchestra)

Mstislav Rostropovich, cello

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Kirill Kondrashin, conductor

Date: 1960 / 2025

Label: Archipel 

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Mstislav Rostropovich (1927–2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor, one of the best-known cellists of the 20th century. Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, he was trained by his parents and at the Moscow Conservatory (1943–48), where he was a professor from 1956. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya. Although sometimes criticized for occasional over-romanticism, Rostropovich was admired for his keen musicianship. He was also well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works (over 100 pieces), which enlarged the cello repertoire more than any cellist before or since.

Kirill Kondrashin (1914–1981) was a Soviet and Russian conductor. Born in Moscow to a musical family, he studied conducting at the Moscow Conservatory from 1931 to 1936. He conducted at the Maly Opera Theatre in Leningrad, then the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Kondrashin was chief conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra from 1960 to 1975, in a period of notable achievement. He defected from the Soviet Union in 1978 while touring in the Netherlands, became guest conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in the same year, and remained in that position until his death.