In March and April of 2002, Mstislav Rostropovich celebrated his 75h birthday by leading the London Symphony Orchestra in the music of Shostakovich on a series of programs in London and New York. One of the concerts opened with the Cello Concerto No. 1 — written for Rostropovich in 1959 and among the supreme masterpieces in the instrument's repertory — and concluded with the haunting, desolate Symphony No. 11, written in 1956–57 and subtitled "The Year 1905."

In this recording from London's Barbican, the soloist in the concerto, the 27-year-old Russian cellist Denis Shapovalov, plays boldly and energetically, unfazed by the fact that the work's dedicatee is conducting the orchestra. Rostropovich's powerful reading of the symphony achieves a monumentality that no other interpreter has yet approached, while bringing an element of sharpness and poignancy to the workers' songs that Shostakovich quotes throughout the piece.

•  Program  •

	Full concert: To listen to this concert in its entirety, click the audio button on the right. To listen to an individual piece, select one of the buttons below.
1–2	Dmitri Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107 (26:11) London Symphony Orchestra Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor • Denis Shapovalov, cello Recorded at Barbican Hall, London, 19 March 2002. about the piece: concert note (Steinberg: The Concerto)
3	Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 11 in G minor, Op. 103, "The Year 1905" (60:13) London Symphony Orchestra Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor Recorded at Barbican Hall, London, 19 March 2002.
4–6	Jonathan Tolansky Mstislav Rostropovich (87:44) Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor

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Related Articles:

interviews:

• Being Slava: The Rostropovich Interview (Part One)
  As his 75th birthday approaches, the cellist and conductor recalls growing up in Baku, befriending Shostakovich, saving Prokofiev from penury -- and other scenes from a legendary life in music.
• Being Slava: The Rostropovich Interview (Part Two)
  In part two of this interview, Rostropovich continues his candid conversation with Jon Tolansky and explains how not to meet a world-famous composer.

concert reviews:

• Slava and Friends
  The London Symphony concludes its celebration of Mstislav Rostropovich's 75th birthday with a truly festive gala concert featuring musical stars galore. (Argerich, Jansons, Ozawa and Kremer are just the beginning.)
• Slava and Britten
  The London Symphony continues its celebration of Mstislav Rostropovich's 75th birthday with a program of music by the cellist/conductor's great English colleague.
• Slava's Diamond Jubilee
  The London Symphony celebrates the 75th birthday of Mstislav Rostropovich with a concerto and symphony by the composer with whom he is most associated, Dmitri Shostakovich.

Concise Grove Dictionary of Music:

• Rostropovich, Mstislav (Leopoldovich)
  
• Shostakovich, Dmitry (Dmitriyevich)