ROSTROPOVICH: THE GENIUS OF THE CELLO

Noone has done more for the cello than Mstislav Rostropovich, or 'Slava' as he was widely known. As well as being arguably the greatest cellist of the twentieth century, he expanded and enriched the cello repertoire by the sheer force of his artistry and his personality. Composers lined up to write works for him. In this film by John Bridcut, friends, family and former pupils explore the unique talents of this great Russian artist, and listen to and watch him making music. Contributors include his widow Galina Vishnevskaya and their daughters Olga and Elena; the eminent conductors Seiji Ozawa and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky; and cellists who attended his famous classes in Moscow: Natalya Gutman, Mischa Maisky, Moray Welsh, Elizabeth Wilson and Karine Georgian. The film traces the development of Rostropovich's international career amid the political tensions of the final years of the Soviet Union.

First broadcast on Friday 7 October 2011 -- watch out for repeats on BBC FOUR

Film Editor Samuel Santana Photography Vaughan Matthews Sound Paul Paragon
Production Manager Annie Moore Associate Producer Howard Anderson Research Charlotte Knowles Consultant Elizabeth Wilson
Executive Producer Philip Armstrong-Dampier
Written and directed by John Bridcut

An ITN Production for BBC Four
Earlier this year, John Bridcut directed "The Prince and the Composer", a film about Hubert Parry by HRH The Prince of Wales. His previous films for the BBC include "Nureyev: From Russia with Love" (2007), as well as his award-winning portraits of English composers: "Britten's Children" (2004), "The Passions of Vaughan Williams" (2008) and "Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask" (2010).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• +Crux
• +Rostropovich
• +Bridcut
• +review
• +cello
• +documentary
• +classical
• +BBC4
• +BBC
• Four

[JohnBridcut1]

The film will be repeated on BBC Four in the near future.

[JohnBridcut1]

Thanks so much for your comment. The film's distribution worldwide and on DVD is under discussion at the moment.

John Bridcut

[Mizzles240]

goodness! where can i watch this?!?!!

[bacarter]

Please make this available in the US.

[BobbyLelat86]

We watched this last night and it is now staying permanently on our freeview recorder! An absolutely fantastic tribute to one of the greatest musicians of the 20th Century. 

[FlascheMusik]

Mr. Bridcut,

This looks magnificently interesting. How can one see this in the States?(I'm trapped in Wisconsin). Will you release your film on DVD?

kindly,

William