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| Russian maestro Rostropovich dies | Russian maestro Rostropovich dies |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The celebrated Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich has died at the age of 80. | The celebrated Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich has died at the age of 80. |
| A master musician, Mr Rostropovich was also renowned for his backing for human rights and opposition to Soviet rule. | A master musician, Mr Rostropovich was also renowned for his backing for human rights and opposition to Soviet rule. |
| He spent much of his career abroad, in self-imposed exile from the Soviet Union over his support for Nobel prize writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. | He spent much of his career abroad, in self-imposed exile from the Soviet Union over his support for Nobel prize writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn. |
| But he returned as communism collapsed and performed a Bach suite as the Berlin Wall came down. | But he returned as communism collapsed and performed a Bach suite as the Berlin Wall came down. |
| President Vladimir Putin said that his death was a "terrible loss" for Russian culture. | |
| The best step was not found in music, but in one page of this letter Mstislav Rostropovich class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/2911181.stm">Obituary: Rostropovich | |
| At Mr Rostropovich's 80th birthday celebrations a month ago, Mr Putin called the musician not only "a brilliant cellist and gifted conductor," but also "a firm defender of human rights". | |
| He died at a Moscow clinic after a long illness, his spokeswoman said. | He died at a Moscow clinic after a long illness, his spokeswoman said. |
| Reports from Russia said he would be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery, where his friend, the former President Boris Yeltsin, was laid to rest earlier this week. | |
| Exile overseas | Exile overseas |
| Mr Rostropovich studied at the Moscow Conservatoire under composers such as Sergei Prokofiev and Dimitry Shostakovich, rapidly building a reputation for himself. | Mr Rostropovich studied at the Moscow Conservatoire under composers such as Sergei Prokofiev and Dimitry Shostakovich, rapidly building a reputation for himself. |
| The cellist played Bach as the Berlin Wall came down | |
| But his support for dissidents such as Mr Solzhenitsyn - declared in a letter to state-run newspaper Pravda in 1970 - made him a target for the Russian authorities. | |
| He left the Soviet Union and spent several years in the West with his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, and their children, as he continued to build an international career. | |
| In November 1989, he gave a impromptu performance at the Berlin Wall as demonstrators tore it down, a show that was reported around the world. | |
| A few years later, the cellist was rehabilitated by then Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and he was able to return to Russia to perform. | |
| In August 1991, he flew to Moscow to support Mr Yeltsin as hard-liners attempted to overthrow Mr Gorbachev's era of glasnost and perestroika, spending days protesting in the parliament building. | |
| He latterly divided his time between Russia, the US and France. | He latterly divided his time between Russia, the US and France. |
| In an interview with the BBC World Service in 2002, he said that the letter to Pravda was the best thing he had done in his life. | In an interview with the BBC World Service in 2002, he said that the letter to Pravda was the best thing he had done in his life. |
| "The best step was not found in music, but in one page of this letter," he said. "Since that moment my conscience was clean and clear." | "The best step was not found in music, but in one page of this letter," he said. "Since that moment my conscience was clean and clear." |
You can send us your tributes and recollections about Mstislav Rostropovich using the post form below: | You can send us your tributes and recollections about Mstislav Rostropovich using the post form below: |