Rostropovich

American  

[ros-truh-poh-vich, ruh-struh-paw-vyich] / ˌrɒs trəˈpoʊ vɪtʃ, rʌ strəˈpɔ vyɪtʃ /

noun

1. Mstislav (Leopoldovich) 1927–2007, Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor (husband ofGalina Vishnevskaya ), born in Soviet Azerbaijan: settled in the United States 1974, music director of the U.S. National Symphony Orchestra 1977–94.

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Rostropovich British  

/ ˌrɒstrəˈpəʊvɪtʃ, rəstraˈpɔvitʃ /

noun

1. Mstislav Leopoldovich (ˈmɪstɪslɑːv; Russian mstiˈslaf leaˈpɔldavitʃ). 1927–2007, Soviet cellist, composer, and conductor; became a US citizen in 1978 after losing Soviet citizenship (restored in 1990)

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Example Sentences

One of the greatest recordings of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, his grab-you-by-the-gut answer to Stalin and celebration of Russia, is by the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, recorded in 1994 at the Kennedy Center.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026

After 1991, many of the former “noncitizens” — including Solzhenitsyn, Rostropovich and Lyubimov — returned to Russia.

From Washington Post • Mar. 13, 2023

Before Wednesday, it had not been performed by the Philharmonic in two decades; the last time was with Rostropovich at the podium.

From New York Times • Feb. 23, 2023

Mstislav Rostropovich, the legendary Russian cellist, once said he would never return to Los Angeles after being belittled for the last time in a Bernheimer review.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2019

Ten days before the performance, Vishnevskaya, the wife of cellist and conductor Msitslav Rostropovich, was denied an exit visa by the Soviet Cultural Ministry.

From Washington Post • Apr. 24, 2019