A special evening commemorating the passing of Mstislav Rostropovitch will be broadcast on Mezzo

Tribute to Slava Tuesday 5 june, 2007 at 8:45 PM

A special evening commemorating the passing of Mstislav Rostropovitch on 27 April 2007 will be broadcast on Mezzo on Tuesday 5 June, starting at 8:45 pm.

PROGRAMME LINE-UP

8:45 PM:
A Portrait of Mstislav Rostropovitch
Documentary (2002; 52 min.), directed by Don Featherstone
Production: RM Arts/LWT South Bank Show

Mstislav Rostropovitch was undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest cellists. After leaving the USSR in the mid-1970s, he worked both as a cellist and conductor in the United States. As director of the Aldeburgh Festival, he was captured on film conducting a rehearsal with the Pears Britten Orchestra, featuring pieces by Krzysztof Penderecki and Benjamin Britten. He can also be seen discussing his plans for his music and for the future.

Repeats: 6 June at 1:45 pm and 16 June at 9:45 am

9:45 PM:
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major by Joseph Haydn
Concert (2004; 25 min.), directed by Hugo Kach
Production: Unitel Film
Featuring Mstislav Rostropovitch with the Academy of Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields.

Haydn’s Cello Concerto No.1 in C Major is renowned for its melodic and rhythmic variety. Despite the fact that it was discovered in only 1961 at the National Museum in Prague, it soon entered the repertoire thanks to its exceptional qualities and the scarcity of cello concertos from the classical period.

Repeats: 6 June at 2:45 pm and 16 June at 10:40 am

10:15 PM:
Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major by Joseph Haydn
Concert (2004; 25 min.), directed by Hugo Kach
Featuring Mstislav Rostropovitch with the Academy of Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields.

Haydn’s Cello Concerto No. 2 was only definitively attributed to the composer in 1953 after the discovery of a handwritten score. Pushing the boundaries of music much further than Concerto No. 1, this work explores the technical possibilities of the cello, in particular its bichord and trichord effects.

Repeats: 6 June at 3:20 pm and 16 June at 11:10 am