The Glory of Rostropovich - 80th Birthday Tribute

Disc 1
1	Cello Concerto in D major
2	Cello Concerto in D major
3	Cello Concerto in D major
4	Cello Concerto, for cello
5	Cello Concerto, for cello
6	Cello Concerto, for cello
7	Cello Concerto in A major
8	Cello Concerto in A major
9	Cello Concerto in A major
10	Cello Concerto, for cello
11	Cello Concerto, for cello
12	Cello Concerto, for cello
13	Cello Concerto in A minor
14	Cello Concerto in A minor
15	Cello Concerto in A minor
Disc 2
1	Cello Concerto in B minor
2	Cello Concerto in B minor
3	Cello Concerto in B minor
4	Variations on a Rococo Th
5	Variations on a Rococo Th
6	Variations on a Rococo Th
7	Variations on a Rococo Th
8	Variations on a Rococo Th
9	Variations on a Rococo Th
10	Variations on a Rococo Th
11	Variations on a Rococo Th
12	Variations on a Rococo Th
13	Andante cantabile, for ce
14	Chant du ménéstral (Minst
Disc 3
1	Cello Concerto No. 2 in G
2	Cello Concerto No. 2 in G
3	Cello Concerto No. 2 in G
4	Symphony No. 5 in D minor
5	Symphony No. 5 in D minor
6	Symphony No. 5 in D minor
7	Symphony No. 5 in D minor
Disc 4
1	Concert ŕ quatre, for flu
2	Concert ŕ quatre, for flu
3	Concert ŕ quatre, for flu
4	Concert ŕ quatre, for flu
5	Meditations (3) from "Mas
6	Meditations (3) from "Mas
7	Meditations (3) from "Mas
8	Sonata for cello & piano
9	Sonata for cello & piano
10	Sonata for cello & piano
Disc 5
1	Sonata for cello & piano
2	Sonata for cello & piano
3	Sonata for cello & piano
4	Sonata for cello & piano
5	Sonata for cello & piano
6	Sonata for cello & piano
7	Sonata for cello & piano
8	Sonata for cello & piano
9	Introduction and Polonais
10	Adagio & Allegro for horn
Disc 6
1	Quintet for 2 violins, vi
2	Quintet for 2 violins, vi
3	Quintet for 2 violins, vi
4	Quintet for 2 violins, vi
Disc 7
1	The Swan Lake, suite, Op.
2	The Swan Lake, suite, Op.
3	The Swan Lake, suite, Op.
4	The Swan Lake, suite, Op.
5	The Swan Lake, suite, Op.
6	The Swan Lake, suite, Op.
7	The Sleeping Beauty, suit
8	The Sleeping Beauty, suit
9	The Sleeping Beauty, suit
10	The Sleeping Beauty, suit
11	The Sleeping Beauty, suit
12	Nutcracker, suite from th
13	Nutcracker, suite from th
14	Nutcracker, suite from th
15	Nutcracker, suite from th
16	Nutcracker, suite from th
17	Nutcracker, suite from th
18	Nutcracker, suite from th
19	Nutcracker, suite from th
Disc 8
1	Capriccio Italien, for or
2	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
3	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
4	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
5	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
6	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
7	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
8	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
9	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
10	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
11	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
12	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
13	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
14	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
15	Romeo and Juliet, Suite N
The Glory of Rostropovich - 80th Birthday Tribute
1.	Cello Concerto in D major, G. 479 16:49
	Composed by Luigi Boccherini
	Performed by Collegium Musicum Zürich and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Paul Sacher
2.	Cello Concerto, for cello, strings & continuo in C major, RV 398 8:18
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Martin Derungs, Martin Derungs, Martin Derungs, Collegium Musicum Zürich, Mstislav Rostropovich and Alexander Stein
	Conducted by Paul Sacher
3.	Cello Concerto in A major 14:53
	Composed by Giuseppe Tartini
	Performed by Collegium Musicum Zürich and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Paul Sacher
4.	Cello Concerto, for cello, strings & continuo in G major, RV 413 11:03
	Composed by Antonio Vivaldi
	Performed by Martin Derungs, Collegium Musicum Zürich and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Paul Sacher
5.	Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 25:35
	Composed by Robert Schumann
	Performed by Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky
6.	Cello Concerto in B minor, B. 191 (Op. 104) 41:27
	Composed by Antonin Dvorák
	Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
7.	Variations on a Rococo Theme, for cello & orchestra (or cello & piano) in A major, Op. 33 18:56
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
8.	Andante cantabile, for cello and string orchestra in D major (arr. of 2nd mvt. from String Quartet No.1) 6:39
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
9.	Chant du ménéstral (Minstrel's Song) for cello & orchestra in F sharp minor, Op. 71 4:12
	Composed by Alexander Glazunov
	Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Seiji Ozawa
10.	Cello Concerto No. 2 in G major, Op. 126 33:23
	Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
	Performed by Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Seiji Ozawa
11.	Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47 45:42
	Composed by Dmitry Shostakovich
	Performed by National Symphony Orchestra
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
12.	Concert ŕ quatre, for flute, cello, piano & orchestra, I/62 26:08
	Composed by Olivier Messiaen
	Performed by Heinz Holliger, Catherine Cantin, Yvonne Loriod, Bastille Opera Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
	Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
13.	Meditations (3) from "Mass", for cello & orchestra; also for cello & piano 17:01
	Composed by Leonard Bernstein
	Conducted by Leonard Bernstein
	Performed by Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich
14.	Sonata for Cello & Piano No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 27:11
	Composed by Johannes Brahms
	Performed by Mstislav Rostropovich and Rudolf Serkin
15.	Sonata for Cello & Piano No. 2 in F major, Op. 99 30:25
	Composed by Johannes Brahms
	Performed by Mstislav Rostropovich and Rudolf Serkin
16.	Sonata for cello & piano in G minor, Op. 65, CT. 204 29:24
	Composed by Frédéric Chopin
	Performed by Martha Argerich and Mstislav Rostropovich
17.	Introduction and Polonaise brillante for cello & piano in C major, Op. 3, CT. 148 8:17
	Composed by Frédéric Chopin
	Performed by Martha Argerich and Mstislav Rostropovich
18.	Adagio & Allegro for horn (or violin or cello) & piano in A flat major, Op. 70 8:14
	Composed by Robert Schumann
	Performed by Martha Argerich and Mstislav Rostropovich
19.	Quintet for 2 violins, viola & 2 cellos in C major, D. 956 (Op. posth. 163) 53:30
	Composed by Franz Schubert
	Performed by Emerson String Quartet and Mstislav Rostropovich
20.	The Swan Lake, suite, Op. 20a 25:25
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Eberhard Finke and Leon Spierer
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
21.	The Sleeping Beauty, suite for orchestra, Op. 66a 20:09
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
22.	Nutcracker, suite from the ballet, Op. 71a 23:05
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
23.	Capriccio Italien, for orchestra (or piano, 4 hands), Op. 45 15:42
	Composed by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky
	Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
24.	Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 1 for orchestra, Op. 64 bis 27:36
	Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
	Performed by National Symphony Orchestra
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich
25.	Romeo and Juliet, Suite No. 2 for orchestra, Op. 64 ter 30:11
	Composed by Sergey Prokofiev
	Performed by National Symphony Orchestra
	Conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich

All Music Guide

Given that box sets are too often thrown together in a last cavalier attempt to get mileage from back catalog, it's a pleasure to find one that has rhyme and reason, assembling a program that would be hard for the buyer to find on his or her own and offering a real tribute to a beloved figure. The career of cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich traversed quite a few cultural and musical junctures. He was, in turn, a hotshot, rather brash young virtuoso who emerged from the period of Soviet openness in the late '50s, a big player in the classic Russian mold in Russian and Eastern European repertory, a champion of Shostakovich and the other politically ambiguous composers of the late Soviet era, an experimenter with the Baroque before it was common to be one, a fine chamber player, an enthusiastic supporter of several different stripes of contemporary music -- and then the second half of his career, as conductor of the National Symphony in Washington, began. A set like this is a good way to get a handle on Rostropovich's contributions to musical life. It's not so much that any one thing he did was extraordinary (although his rapport with Shostakovich's "Cello Concerto No. 2" on disc 3 is hard to top). For the Dvorák concerto, taken in isolation, one might choose Janos Starker's reading among the recordings of the third quarter of the twentieth century. But there's not another musician alive, or even dead, who could have filled all the shoes Rostropovich effortlessly wore -- and who could have stamped his warm, irrepressible personality onto almost everything he did. Let others find fault with individual passages; this box is about the broad sweep of Rostropovich's work, and that perspective brings home his greatness. James Manheim

BBC Music Magazine

Many of these recordings have already achieved hallowed status. For example I cannot imagine a more exciting performance of the Chopin Sonata, sparkling with spontaneity, yet with a searing logic to each phrase that compellingly draws you through to the last note. Joanne Talbot