Rostropovich: The Musical Life of the Great Cellist, Teacher, and Legend

by Elizabeth Wilson

When renowned cellist Mstislav Rostropovich died less than a year ago at the age of eighty, the world lost not only an extraordinary musician but an accomplished conductor, an outsize personality, and a courageous human being. "It is not an exaggeration to say that the history of the cello in the twentieth century would be unthinkable without the name of Mstislav Rostropovich," writes Elizabeth Wilson. "He has seemed to me like a personification of the cello itself." Ms. Wilson, a former student of "Slava" and the acclaimed biographer of both Shostakovich and Jacqueline du Pré, has written the definitive biography of the master. Rostropovich teems with entertaining anecdotes and therefore brings the reader as close as one can get to the method and psychology of Rostropovich's playing and teaching.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

416 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 2007

About the author

Elizabeth Wilson is a pioneer in the development of fashion studies, and has been a university professor, feminist campaigner and activist. Her writing career began in the ‘underground’ magazines of the early 1970s, (Frendz, Red Rag, Spare Rib, Come Together) before she became an academic. She's written for the Guardian and her non-fiction books include Adorned in Dreams (1985, 2003), The Sphinx in the City (1992) (shortlisted for the Manchester Odd Fellows Prize), Bohemians (2000) and Love Game (2014) (long listed for the William Hill sportswriting prize), as well as six crime novels, including War Damage (2009) and The Girl in Berlin (2012) (long listed for the Golden Dagger Award).

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Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely outstanding and compelling. This will be appreciated more by cellist or musicians who know the cello repertoire. Mstislav - we love you!

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular. Full of all the interest a cellist would hope for from a book on this musical legend. Well written too. As musically inspiring as it is informative.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I was reading this I listened to music videos on YouTube of this great cellist! Wonderful!

[bob tokarczuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

[charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

good, inspirational, lines up core repertoire and gives context.

[Matt Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading this book after my first orchestra performance. I was a little burnt out from cello, and I started seriously burning through the pages while I was on a plane. Almost a month later, I'd finished the book, and I got home to my cello. I picked it up and my playing had improved. I think I'd absorbed some of Rostropovich's lessons through Wilson's excellent writing.

Like her biography on Shostakovich, this book is exceptionally detailed and well-sourced. However, this book is limited in scope: it barely touches on Rostropovich's life after his departure from the Soviet Union.

[Ai · Rating 4 out of 5]

eeeeeeeeexcellent!!!!!