Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya
Subtitle: Russia, music, and liberty
By: conversations with Claude Samuel ; translated by E. Thomas Glasow.
Contributors: Vishnevskai͡a︡, Galina, 1926-; Samuel, Claude.
Publisher: Amadeus Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Portland, Or
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 223
ISBN-13: 9780931340765
Subjects: Rostropovich, Mstislav, 1927-  -- Interviews; Vishnevskai͡a︡, Galina, 1926-  -- Interviews; Violoncellists -- Interviews; Sopranos (Singers) -- Interviews
Other titles: Russia, music, and liberty
Description: This book is a vivid portrait of two musicians whose lives have been both fairy-tale love story and front-page history: the shared saga of the foremost cellist of his generation and his country's reigning diva. Together they suffered exile from their beloved Russia for their outspoken advocacy of freedom but returned in triumph after the dissolution of the repressive regime that had stripped them of their citizenship.

As both artist and rebel, Rostropovich has come to be known as a "Solzhenitsyn with cello case and baton," and his recent distinguished presence in Washington, D.C., as conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra is another important chapter in music history.

In these conversations with French journalist and critic Claude Samuel, Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya tell their dramatic story from their marriage in 1955 (four days after meeting!) onward. Musical matters - Bach and Beethoven, to be sure, but also the great Russian masters - are the focus of their thoughts, but their turbulent political battles coupled with a deep love for their homeland are pervasive themes as well.

Although these conversations, translated here for the first time, took place in 1983, Claude Samuel has added a new preface that recounts the couple's achievements in succeeding years. Their tale culminates in their emotional return to Russia after sixteen years in exile, with Rostropovich leading the National Symphony in Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" Symphony, the last work he conducted before his enforced departure.
Notes: Discography: p. 209-220.
Translation of: Entretiens avec Mstislav Rostropovitch et Galina Vichnevskaïa.
Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Showered with flowers; title: Talents and talk; title: The interpreter's mission; title: Icons and Kulichi; title: Music under the one-party regime; title: A question of confidence; title: In search of a spark of genius; title: The Golden Age; title: The trials of Tatiana; title: Selected discography