Russia:World renowned cellist and former Soviet dissident Mstislav Rostropovich has been awarded Russia's highest civil prize.
Now revered as one his country's greatest living cultural treasures, Rostropovich was stripped of his citizenship in the early 70s and forced into exile for his opposition to the Soviet regime before returning to support the introduction of democracy.
The increasingly frail conductor and musician was yesterday awarded the Order of Service to the Fatherland, First Degree, by President Vladimir Putin for his "outstanding contribution to the development of world music and many years of creative activity". Once a student of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich, he also worked closely with two of the 20th century's other leading composers, Benjamin Britten and Sergei Prokofiev.
Rostropovich was exiled in 1974 after he had helped the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Nonetheless, his career thrived and he became the musical director of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington in 1977, and held the position until 1994.
Now 79, Rostropovich has suffered some ill health recently. He lives in Moscow and had been a regular attendee at concerts and receptions. For Russia's current generation of musicians, he remains an inspirational figure. "He is a very special and important musician and man for Russia, because he was not only an extraordinary musical talent, but also he was an outstanding civil figure for Russia," said Alexei Bruni, leading violinist and founder of the Russian National Orchestra yesterday.
Mr Bruni has known Rostropovich most of his life. He emphasised the cellist's versatility and can instantly recall specific performances he gave of works by Dvorak and Tchaikovsky almost 40 years ago.
"He is a wonderful, extraordinary cello player. He could play the piano very well and also he was a conductor, so he combined different qualities. He told me many interesting stories about Russia, about his life, about music and different artists. He's such an interesting partner for conversation," said Bruni.
Music critic and broadcaster Petroc Trelawny said Rostropovich was rightly being celebrated as "one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century".
"He's a cultural figurehead. There he was, one of the most famous artists of the Soviet Union who dared to stand up against authorities in the 70s. There were very few people who defected for such political reasons in such a public way. His action shattered the illusions of many people about the Soviet regime," he said.