CD audio

Nikolai Lugansky, Alexander Kniazev, Andre Previn, London Symphony Orchestra

Maria Callas (Tosca), Carlo Bergonzi (Cavaradossi), Tito Gobbi (Scarpia), Giorgio Tadeo (Il Sagristano), Leonardo Monreale (Angelotti), Renato Ercolani (Spoletta), Ugo Trama (Sciarrone), David Sellar (Un pastore), Leonardo Monreale (Un carceriere), Paris Conservatoire Orchestra, Paris Opera Chorus, Georges Pretre

The greatest cellist of his time, and a man of enormous generosity and charisma, Mstislav Rostropovich (1927-2007) became an influential figure in the world’s culture. Composers such as Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Britten numbered among his many friends, and his mastery of traditional repertoire was matched by his passion for new music. Exiled from the Soviet Union in the 1970s for daring to advocate freedom of expression, Rostropovich later played an active role in Russia’s transition from Communism to democracy. The range and richness of his life and art are expressed in the magnificently varied music in this 3-CD collection.

Andreas Schmidt, Lella Cuberli, Joan Rodgers, John Tomlinson, Cecilia Bartoli, Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim