Mstislav Rostropovich ~ "Death of Aase" ~ "Peer Gynt"

[LJBSasha]

Very good for those who want things on the fast side in this piece; personally, I'll take what Sir Thomas Beecham does with it any day or night! The utter bleakness and despair of the work comes out as it should best with a SLOW tempo. [No doubt, Mstjíslav Ljeopóljdovich Rostropóvich was energised in this concert after (IIRC) conducting Barber's "Adagio for Strings", Chaykóvskiy's 6th Symphony ("Pathétique") and Shostakóvich's 5th Symphony - maybe not the best combination to lead to this...]

[andreyborisov]

He was not the best conductor as such, but he always wanted to do something with the sound, particularly string one, and that's wonderful.