added 2007 Fri Apr 27 17:29:37 by TechnologyExpert
Mstislav Rostropovich, the ebullient master cellist who fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents and later triumphantly played Bach suites below the crumbling Berlin Wall, has died. He was 80. Rostropovich's opposition to the Communist leaders of his homeland started with the denunciations of Shostakovich and Prokofiev during the Stalin era.
Mstislav Rostropovich, the ebullient master cellist who fought for the rights of Soviet-era dissidents and later triumphantly played Bach suites below the crumbling Berlin Wall, has died. He was 80. Rostropovich's opposition to the Communist leaders of his homeland started with the denunciations of Shostakovich and Prokofiev during the Stalin era.
